Memorable Encounter
by Nym10
Summary: AU. Tsuna is in High school and meets up with everyone but in different encounters. Tsuna and his friends must overcome some hard times in the present/past. Some emotional moments and depressing thoughts. No pairings yet or none at all. Can be thought of as all27, mostly friendship tho. Might let you decide on pairings if I want pairings. First real try at a story. Give it a try!
1. Chapter 1

**My first real story. Enjoy and review please!**

 **I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! or it's characters.**

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Chapter 1

BANG! "Ouch!" A thin looking brunet lay flat on the ground screamed. He lifted his head and began to rub where he felt a bruise begin to form. "Stupid," he grumbled as he began to climb back in bed.

"Tsu-kun, are you alright?!" yelled a sweet and caring voice from downstairs.

"I'm fine, just being dame again," Tsuna whispered the last part to himself. He looks up to his ceiling and thinks of the day he is about to embark.

Tsuna is 15-year-old who had just switched schools again. He hopes for a successful three years of a being a new person to this new school. One thing, though, Tsuna is a major dame. For example, this morning. What 15-year-old falls out of bed, and not just today but almost every morning. Tsuna sigh looking already defeated. He rose out of bed to get ready for his first day of high school.

As Tsuna looks into the mirror to check if he looked alright, he feels this sensation in the back of his head. He reaches around to touch it and feels nothing but another bruise. 'Must have gotten it in my sleep somehow,' he thinks as he tries to straighten his outfit and began to head downstairs.

"Good morning, Tsu-kun," a short sweet woman in the kitchen says, "Are you ready for your first day of high school? My little Tsu-kun is growing up so quickly!" she cries to herself. Tsuna sits in his spot where his breakfast was waiting as he watched his mother takes off to get rice for him.

Tsuna sighs again on the inside as he thinks about how much he isn't ready for today. His mother returns and sits next to him as he smiles his big bright smile and begins to eat.

xxxxxx

Finished with breakfast, Tsuna heads out waving bye to his mother as she waves bye to him. He waits for a second as if expecting someone to follow after him. Noticing nothing was coming he slowly turned and began to head to his new high school, Namimori High.

Last year, Tsuna attended a middle school thirty minutes away by bus. At least, on the days he decided to go. This year though, he had decided to go to the high school that was only a 15-minute walk away.

Why did he go somewhere so far? He just didn't want to see his classmates from school when he went out with his mother shopping. Plain and simple in his opinion. He didn't want to be Dame Tsuna in front of his mother, or at least not more so.

Tsuna continues to walk until he reaches a house. At the front gate was his nightmare, who continued to sleep. Tsuna stared at the little bloodthirsty creature before deciding to try sneaking by it. Tsuna beings to walks carefully past the gate in hopes of not waking the beast. Tsuna celebrates inside for having succeeded for the first time in his life. Tsuna takes this as a sign of good fortune for the day.

xxxxxx

Tsuna arrives at school. He begins to walk to his new homeroom. Tsuna walks in with little people in the room. Most of the seats are open to taking. Tsuna decided the night before where the best spot to sit is at. Tsuna looked to the back row and the row by the window. He could tell those would be for the delinquents like he thought. A few smarter looking students took up the front rows of those last three rows closer to the window. He could see a few athletic types surrounding the middle area and knew not to go in front of them if he wanted to survive the year more successfully.

Tsuna knew the middle of any row was best so he began to head to the first-row middle seat. He secretly hoped he wouldn't make a fool of himself by just walking to his seat. He made sure to go at a safe pace while trying to rush to his seat, hating to have anyone's attention on him for much longer.

Tsuna can hear more students coming in as he walked to his seat. Tsuna made it to his seat and threw his bag on the desk as he felt a heavy presence behind him. Unable to ignore the strong presence, he turned quickly to face it.

He came face to face with a long silvered hair grouchy-faced guy, Tsuna gulped in fear that this guy was a delinquent. He began to panic inside because he believed the delinquents would sit in the back row or by the window with the nerds. The teen grunted as he felt Tsuna staring at him.

Tsuna tried to calm down but could not relax his beating heart. He tried to be friendly and mind his own business, so he began to sit down in his chair. But Dame Tsuna began acting up again, and he missed his own chair landing on the floor. Having brought down not only his chair, as he reached out in panic, but also the delinquent in front of him. A grunt and a slight squeak from Tsuna echoed in the now silent room.

After a moment, the room erupted in laughter. It echoed in the room and down the hall. Spectators began to stare into the room to see the cause of so much laughter. Tsuna, flustered, began to apologize to the other teen he had embarrassed and pulled down him to the floor.

He barely heard the grunt from the other because all Tsuna could focus on was the laughter around him as he apologized to the taller teen. Tsuna began to feel tears form at the ends of his eyes. 'Stupid why did you do that? Now, this guy might hate you or worse beat you up for embarrassing him. STUPID! Why can't I just have one normal school day before Dame Tsuna starts acting up!' Tsuna screamed to himself.

"Ha! It's Dame Tsuna! He's always so clumsy and was a big loser in middle school! Ha ha!" yelled a student from the entrance of the classroom.

Tsuna blushed harder from the embarrassment and tears began to escape his eyes as he stared down at his hands knowing that his secret was out already. Everyone was now going to find out about how much of a loser he was. He had hoped to have a friend or two before it happened, but fate seemed to have other plans.

"Dame Tsuna?"

"I bet he can't do anything."

"What a loser!"

Tsuna could hear the negative words from the people in and outside of the classroom. He began to lose hope in his high school life when an irritated growl was heard right next to him.

Tsuna looks to his right seeing the forgotten silver teen begin to get up from the ground with a frustrated and angry face. Tsuna looked down to the ground knowing he must be upset with him for not only dropping him but having everyone laugh at them. In the process, making him be noticed. The delinquent boy stood back in his spot not moving just standing as if he was waiting for something to happen.

Tsuna stayed on the ground feeling ashamed looking down on the ground again when he heard a slightly deep and rough voice yell out, "Shut the hell up! I am tired of all you idiots laughing about something so stupid." Tsuna looked up in shock to hear a voice so harsh yelling at the others.

The teen standing in front of him turned back to him with his hand out for him to take as if he was offering help. Tsuna looked at it carefully. He felt unsure of it. 'Is it a trick? Was he going to hurt me or make a fool out of him?' Tsuna questioned himself. Tsuna then grasped the bigger hand and felt himself being lifted off the ground.

Tsuna landed lightly on his feet wobbling for a second before getting his footing. He was about to thank the much taller teen, but he turned away from the brunet teen. He then reached down to help Tsuna get his bag and a couple of books that flew out, and he handed them to Tsuna. Blushing a bit at how the class was still giggling about Dame Tsuna, Tsuna sends a shy thank you to the taller teen.

Tsuna felt sad to have been so embarrassed already but happy the delinquent boy didn't hate on him like the others. The taller one sat with ignoring Tsuna's sorry excuse of a thank you. Tsuna, feeling like a fool, sits behind the other not able to relieve the flush and embarrassment he felt. He sat quickly and buried his head into his arms. Tsuna feels a rush of uselessness run through him. Tsuna, having a dark aura around himself, sat in his chair waiting for the day, no, the year, to end already.

The whispers and laughter left as he heard a sweet voice come into the room. In response, the male population of the classroom began to act out. Some talking loudly about sports, weightlifting, previous reputations from middle school, and class ranking all in hopes to getting the pretty girl's attention.

Tsuna looked up from his arms curious about where the sweet voice belonged to. Noticing a short, light brown haired girl laughing with another taller, darker haired girl. The short one looked so kind and sweet looking. Tsuna stared amazingly at the cute girl walking inside. She looked up finding a spot for her and her friend seeing the first two rows front seats were not taken.

'So close,' Tsuna thought as he watched the black-haired teen sit in front of the silver-haired delinquent, and the smaller girl sitting next to her in front of an empty seat. Tsuna stared and was grabbing his bag when he saw a shift from the other males in the room. He sees them all making a move to the empty seat. Tsuna tried making rush for the seat before the others. Just as Tsuna was jumping out of his chair to get to the desk he tripped and fell on the floor next to the teen he had dropped before. Laughter erupted from the other students in class again.

"There goes Dame Tsuna again!" they laughed.

The cute brunet turned to look behind herself looking surprised. The delinquent he had dropped before snorted at Tsuna making Tsuna think he must be laughing at him for being a loser and falling again. Tsuna felt like he should just get up from the floor and run away for the rest of the day.

Suddenly Tsuna felt himself being pulled up from the ground and his legs and arms hung in the air. Tsuna looked up to see the scowling teen looking at him with a scolding stare. Tsuna felt like a beaten puppy carried by his collar by his owner. "What are you doing dumbass? Can't you even walk right without causing problems? What can't you even talk now?" he grumbled glaring at Tsuna like a nuisance.

Tsuna felt bad for being trouble for the other teen again. As Tsuna was dropped to his feet, he wanted to do something for the other. Perhaps an apology for causing so much trouble or to tell him he will disappear and be no trouble again. But Tsuna was just stuck on what to say or do, he could only listen as his new classmates continue to enjoy the Dame Tsuna show.

"Hey Gokudera, you're in this class too?" A spiked blacked haired teen walked in looking athletic and strong. He walked up to me looking down at the delinquent teen next to Tsuna.

"Shut up, baseball freak." The silver haired teen grumbled sitting down. Tsuna began to move back to his seat behind Gokudera forgetting about the seat behind the pretty girl.

The new guy noticed the brunette and laughed saying, "Sorry was I interrupting something?" He looked unapologetic, but a bright laugh and smile.

Tsuna having just sat down, looked up to the brown eyed boy, "Umm no, I was just sitting down." Tsuna flustered as he gained more attention. He quickly looked down at his desk. The dark-haired boy turned to Gokudera, "It's awesome we're in the same class this year, huh?" Gokudera ignored the boy as he rolled his eyes ignoring him. The athletic boy threw his bag on the desk next to Gokudera and behind the pretty girl. He continued saying things to Gokudera about trying out for the baseball team here. Tsuna began to lay his head down on the desk again as the last of the students arrived and the last bell rang.

xxxxxx

Everyone quieted down when the teacher arrived. Tsuna still contemplated about leaving to the nurse's office to get away and go home. The teacher began taking attendance. It could be heard from around the room laughter as Tsuna's name was called. Tsuna found out the cute girl's name was Kyoko Sasagawa and Hana Kurokawa was the dark-haired friend of hers. The "baseball freak" was named Yamamoto Takeshi.

"Today we will be taking a quiz to see how much you each know before we get started tomorrow with a real lesson. There are 10 questions and each has two or three parts to it. Each question represents a chapter in our book. These are beginner questions just to see what basics you remember from middle school." He began to pass out the test saying "Do not flip the paper until I say."

Tsuna looked at the white back of the paper terrified of what will happen when he tries to answer the questions. What will happen when the teacher finds out how much of a loser Tsuna was not being able to answer beginner questions? What will happen when everyone finds out how Tsuna fails everything? The teacher announced "You will have 30 mins to complete the quiz. Completely as much as you are capable of. You may begin."

The sounds of paper flipping occurred as Tsuna continued to dread the quiz as he flipped his test. Tsuna wrote his name at the top and began reading the problem one. It asked something about whether the number was a normal, real, imaginary, and non-real numbers. 'Was this a trick? How can a number not be normal or REAL!?' Tsuna screamed in his head. He began to answer it in hopes that he might get something right. Each question left him more confuse and more depress.

Finally giving up, Tsuna looked up after 20 minutes to see Gokudera taking a nap and his test still sat flipped over on his desk. 'Well, at least I tried. Maybe the teacher will go easy on me for trying and caring about my school work.' Tsuna hoped. Tsuna sighed and began working on his paper again trying to get more done in the last minutes. The 30 minutes went by fast and the teacher began picking up the papers.

Dread began to fill Tsuna.

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 **Reviews are encouraged to help me continue.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Classes ended and everyone began packing up to head home. 'Day one over, finally,' Tsuna thought as he finished packing up his things. He was about to leave when he heard the black-haired teen, Yamamoto, say or maybe yelled. "Let's head home together today, Gokudera!"

"Why would I go with you, baseball freak," Gokudera muttered back as he headed out. Yamamoto following closely behind him.

"Ha ha, don't be like that!"

Tsuna started to head out after they had left.

xxxxxx

"Fine!" he heard behind him as he was putting on his shoes. Tsuna turned to see Gokudera giving into Yamamoto's pleads.

Yamamoto said, "Cool!" as he turned to start heading out when he met eye to eye with Tsuna. "Which way do you live, Tsunayoshi? Do you want to come too?"

Tsuna's eyes widen in surprise as he heard the invite. Tsuna considered Yamamoto's eye and noticed that he was just being nice, but a small part of Tsuna felt like Yamamoto was curious of Tsuna. Gokudera just looked up from putting his shoes on and looked at Tsuna curiously. He was waiting for Tsuna's answer.

Suddenly, a great big smile spread across Tsuna's face as he said "Sure!" Gokudera started at the smiling klutz. It was bright, he noticed. Yamamoto's grin grew bigger and maybe even brighter as he felt Tsuna's happiness.

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Tsuna felt tense walking out with a delinquent but having Yamamoto around (Tsuna already guessed he is a popular guy who makes friends easily and played sports) put Tsuna at ease as they left the school grounds.

They began to make their way home. Yamamoto and Tsuna getting to know each other. Tsuna found out Yamamoto is a real baseball freak (must be why he is ok with Gokudera calling him that since it's true). Also, Tsuna found out that his dad is a sushi chef and it's some of the best sushi around.

Tsuna tried not to say too much about himself. He just mentioned living with his mother and having a father who was never around. Tsuna mentioned being an only child but always wanting a younger brother. The three of them continued talking. Mostly, Yamamoto talking. Gokudera would only mutter and glare at Yamamoto in response, whenever Yamamoto would ask for his opinion and vocalization.

After a few minutes of walking and chatting, Yamamoto suddenly stopped walking. Gokudera noticed him stop and stopped himself while Tsuna continued to walk for a moment before noticing himself. Tsuna stopped and turned to see Yamamoto had stopped in front of a sushi shop.

"Oh, are we here?" Tsuna asked as he walked back.

"Yep! This is my place. I'm sorry we couldn't walk further, but I need to help my dad make deliveries today. Maybe next time we can hang out after school?" Yamamoto grinned on cue.

Tsuna considered Yamamoto's smile for a moment. He felt a sensation in the back of his head again, but this time he knew it wasn't a bruise like he thought before. He began to think maybe what the other teen said was a lie, and why was he faking such a sweet smile. 'Hyponitrite' he told himself.

"Sure thing," Tsuna responded smiling. He tried to ignore his weird thoughts and feeling. He only hoped that he would get to spend more time with a guy like Yamamoto again. Tsuna was feeling slightly hopeful for the next day, 'Maybe we will get to walk home together again, but what about after he finds out what a loser I am.' Yamamoto waved goodbye to Tsuna and Gokudera before walking inside to get to work.

After a second of silence, Tsuna realized that he was alone with the scary faced delinquent. A movement from his left alerted Tsuna that Gokudera was ready to go.

"Umm, I guess we should start heading out," Tsuna said the best he could trying not to sound too much like a weakling. Gokudera moved away from the post he was leaning on and began walking in the direction they were heading in before. A moment of silence passed as they continued to walk. They had walked for about five minutes. Tsuna began to feel excited to get home and away from the other but mostly this awkward silence.

"You know," interrupted a rough voice, "if you don't stand up to those idiots soon, they will keep laughing and call you names." Tsuna couldn't help himself. He stood where he was with wide eyes and mouth open in shock at what he heard. Gokudera stopped after a second and looked back at Tsuna with a scowl. "What?" he asked with an impatient voice.

"Nothing, sorry," Tsuna began as he started to walk again.

They were just 2 blocks away from Tsuna's house as he led the way there. "Hmm," Gokudera hummed in answer to acknowledge he was listening. "I-I" Tsuna stuttered out. "I'm used to it. It's o-okay really. I-I don't mind," he whispered the last of his words losing the ability to convince himself. Tsuna continued walking as he fought back a flush from his face. Tsuna continued walking until he realized again he was walking alone. Gokudera was not with him. Tsuna turned to see him. He was staring at him with a glare, not the scary one he gave Yamamoto but one that said he was not happy or accepting Tsuna's answer.

"Stop it," Gokudera said in a voice kinder than what Tsuna was used to, "Stop faking yourself, stupid." He whispered with frustration. Tsuna stared at him wondering what he could mean and if he even heard him right. "You do mind it, and it sure as hell is not okay!" Gokudera began with slight anger in his words as he walked forward towards Tsuna, "They can't be laughing at you for being you. You need to be more confident," Gokudera said as he continued to walk past Tsuna. Tsuna did not know what to say or do, so he followed after him.

"Uh… that's my house there at the end," Tsuna announced as they reached his house. Gokudera looked up to see a simple warm loving home. Gokudera stopped at the gate as Tsuna caught up. "Umm… so I'll see you tomorrow then." Tsuna said to Gokudera not knowing what else to say. Gokudera nodded and began to head back down the street they came. "Uh. I'm sorry did we pass your place?" Tsuna said worriedly. Gokudera looked back and shook his head.

"No, I live down the opposite way, and it's little further away than here."

"Oh, okay. Good." Tsuna was happy to have not been a burden and bother again to the silver haired teen.

"Tomorrow I won't walk with you and Yamamoto since I make you feel so uncomfortable." Gokudera began walking or maybe sulking away. Tsuna felt that was a better word to describe it.

Tsuna froze for a second before saying "No, it's okay. I- you helped me so much today. I never thought I was a wimp before." Tsuna said. "I appreciate what you said. You're really… reliable, Gokudera-kun." Gokudera turned and looked at Tsuna. "I see why you are such good friends with Yamamoto," Tsuna finished with again smiling brightly again. Gokudera stumbled where he stood.

"WHAT? I'm not friends with that Baseball freak!" He screeched. Tsuna became scared that he did something wrong and began stumbling out an apology.

"S-sorry. I didn't- I just thought- from how Yamamoto acts with you- it just seemed like you guys were friends. I'm sorry. It was my mistake for assuming." Tsuna said scared the other was upset with him for messing up again.

"Whatever, we were just old classmates, and now the fool won't leave me alone," Gokudera stated. "I'll see you tomorrow," Gokudera stated as he turned back around. "And maybe we can stop to get food next time on our way home. That's what I use to do in middle school since I lived so far away from the school."

Tsuna looked up with his big brown innocent eyes sparkling again. "Sure!" Tsuna agreed happily. He felt so ecstatic to have made a friend. If Gokudera would allow him to call him that. Tsuna turned and began walking into his house.

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"I'm home!"

"Tsu-kun! How was today? Did it go okay? Did you make any friends? Where the teachers and students nice?"

"Mom, I can't answer all your questions like that."

He laughed as he entered the kitchen to see her. The dining table was filled with all kinds of foods that he was sure was too much for them to eat tonight. His mom was looking so nervous waiting for Tsuna to answer her.

"I had a pretty normal day at first. I succeed in passing by that monster down the street."

Tsuna's mom, Nana, laughed. "Oh Tsu-kun, I told you to stop calling it a monster."

"But it is one!" he yelled back pouting. "Anyways, I got to class and teachers were all nice. After classes ended, I was invited to walk home with some classmates who sat by me. They were nice and we got to talk a little. One of them, Yamamoto Takashi, has a sushi restaurant. He was a pretty nice guy and he loves baseball obsessively. The other one was Gokudera Hayato, he was quieter than the other most of the time. He's a little scary looking but was kind of nice in his own way."

"… How did you feel about them?"

"... They're good people and I like them." Tsuna whispered to his mom after he thought about it. He didn't have to think long really. Inside he knew how he felt already. He remembers Yamamoto's smile and how it felt. The first time he saw it was in class and later when he asked for Tsuna to walk home with them. The smile felt like politeness and the last time was the moment at his home when he put up that politeness again but hiding something again. He felt it. When he thought about Gokudera he remembered his voice. Gokudera spoke in different voices from the time he yelled at the other students with a harsh voice and then scolded Tsuna for falling again. Then the annoyed but calmer voice he had when he talked to Yamamoto and lastly, that moment when he spoke kindly and even caringly to Tsuna. Tsuna knew they were good people but also interesting people.

"Good! I'm happy you have new friends Tsu-kun!" She got up from her chair feeling better knowing Tsuna met people like them so soon. Tsuna flashed his smile once more before he began eating knowing that this food was going to be the rest of the week's food since it would last them all week.

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That night, when Tsuna jumped in bed, he felt another feeling inside him. It felt like the bruise again. Tsuna looked across to his desk before whispering "Good night everyone."

xxxxxx

"… He's… I wonder," the teen wondered out loud as he stared up into the black ceiling. Tears started to flow out of his eyes as blurry memories flashed in his mind.

"Night."

xxxxxx

"Next time…" He looked at a photograph on his nightstand one last time before turning off the lights.

"Good night."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It's dark, and there's sniffling coming from the darkness. There's nothing around though. Well, it is just darkness all around, so there can't be anything around, right? The sniffling continues, why? Who's crying and where are they? It's so loud.

Tsuna wakes. He sits up in his bed with his hand on his head. 'I can't remember anything, but am I crying?' Tsuna wipes the tear away before getting up for school.

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Tsuna, heading to school, was walking faster than usual. He hopes that yesterday was not a dream and that there were people wanting to see him at school. As he is heading down the street, he stops at the gate. Once again, his nightmare was sleeping. Tsuna hoped he would be able to sneak by the monster today. Tsuna walked slowly and quietly. He tiptoes and silently praying to himself. Tsuna was almost past the gate. Whoosh! Tsuna screamed and jumped back as he saw something run past him around the corner.

"Grrrr!" Tsuna froze as he felt terror fill him. Slowly Tsuna turned and came face to face with the bloodthirsty beast. An icy cold chill went down his spine.

"AHHHH!" Tsuna took off. He ran around the corner and ran quickly down the road. BANG! He falls and slides to the ground hearing a string of curses from "the wall" he hit. Tsuna looked up from the ground where he was sitting, and he saw Gokudera. He was wearing his school uniform and had turned to curse out whoever had knocked into him. Noticing Tsuna, he stares at him questionably.

"I-I'm so sorry Gokudera-kun."

"It's okay, but what in the world were you running from?" asked Gokudera. He looked behind Tsuna before looking back at the terrified Tsuna.

"Oh… umm, n-nothing really. Hee Hee…," Tsuna tried to laugh it off while looking nervously around. Gokudera reached down to pull him up. Tsuna begins to dust himself off. He feels nervous under Gokudera's suspicious staring. Finally, Gokudera decides to ignore it for now, and he turns around to start walking.

"So, are you going to stop by Yamamoto's to see if you can catch him?" Gokudera asked Tsuna who began to follow behind him.

"Maybe," Tsuna began. He had to jog up to catch up with the long-legged teen. "I thought about it but wasn't sure if I would even catch him since I'm already running later than I should."

"Mmmm" was all Gokudera said as they continued to head to Yamamoto's place. Once the two boys arrived, they saw someone outside the shop who looked almost like an older Yamamoto.

"Is Yamamoto here, old man?" Gokudera aggressively asked the dark-haired man. The man turned surprised from being sneaked up behind.

"Oh, Gokudera. You just missed him. He just headed out to school, you can catch up with him though." The older man glanced toward Tsuna and stared at the tiny boy.

"Alright then, let's go." Gokudera grabbed Tsuna and pulled him away from the older man. It was like Gokudera was needing to get himself and Tsuna away from the man. Tsuna frowned as he was dragged behind Gokudera. They continued walking quickly until they spotted Yamamoto just ahead of them.

"Yo, Baseball Freak!" yelled Gokudera. Tsuna was stunned by Gokudera's weird behavior. Yamamoto looked back to see the two catching up to him.

"Morning guys," laughed Yamamoto with his smile in place.

"Morning," Gokudera mumbled as he let go of Tsuna.

"G-good morning." Tsuna smiled looking up into Yamamoto's eyes. Tsuna then felt it, the pain in his head. 'What's this? Why do you look like that today?' Tsuna softens his own smile to show comfort to the other. Yamamoto was startled by the smile, and he felt himself being comforted.

"Were you catching up with me?" he decides to ask trying to distract himself from what he felt and Tsuna's knowing stare. At least, that's how it felt like to Yamamoto.

"We just saw your dad, and he told us where you were at," Gokudera explained not saying much more to answer the question.

"Oh, I see. Well, let's go before we're late and have to face you-know-who. Haha!"

Tsuna felt confused. He saw Gokudera glare, probably thinking about this "you-know-who". The three boys began to head out, quickly, to school.

xxxxxx

They arrived at the school gate five minutes before the last bell rang. They hurried to get to the classroom. Tsuna was running behind Yamamoto as he laughed at how he felt like this was a race. Tsuna was about to argue back that this was not a game when he collided with a cold, hard metal. The late bell was ringing through Tsuna's ears as he flew down to the ground with a loud thump. Yamamoto looked behind himself, for he was unsure of what had happened. Gokudera was looking at the culprit of Tsuna's injury, growling. Tsuna looked up to see a deadly glare and metal tonfa ready to take him out.

"I will punish you, late 1st years," was all the older teen said to explain his actions as he eyed Tsuna furiously. He took a step toward Tsuna. The brunet gulped in fear. "You will be bitten to death for rule breaking." Tsuna couldn't react as the scary teen slammed his tonfa into his throat. He was now pinned to the wall and under the other's piercing stare.

"Um-uh," was all Tsuna could think to say. His throat began to feel sore from the pressure on his neck.

"Haha, sorry about being late, Hibari. I held us up this morning," Yamamoto said taking the blame. He smiled, but this one was different. Tsuna felt scared of it, almost as much as he feared the person at his neck.

"It does not matter. No one is excused." Hibari stared into Tsuna's frightened eyes. He continued to stare for a moment before he slowly released Tsuna from his imprisonment. "Late again, and I will bite you to death." Hibari's eyes shined with bloodlust and the pure pleasure of causing more pain. Tsuna tries to hide from the threat behind Yamamoto.

Yamamoto laughs saying, "We'll do our best next time." Gokudera just glared looking pissed off at Hibari. Hibari stalked away, bloodthirsty aura still leaking out of him. A moment later, a scary-faced guy appeared out of nowhere and followed behind Hibari, staying ten feet away. The much more mature looking man looked back at the three of them as he follows Hibari.

xxxxxx

They walked into the classroom and began heading to their seats. It seemed the teacher was also running late since the students were still standing around and talking. Tsuna felt relieved that they were not going to get into more trouble after having been almost killed by Hibari. The students noticed their arrival and began to snicker. Tsuna knew why. Beginning to feel down, he walked to his seat and knew today was already starting off bad. He sat.

"Dame-Tsuna's late!"

"What a surprise!"

"Hahaha!"

The class erupted into laughter. 'Of course, why would today go any better when yesterday. Yesterday, no one even knew what I was then. I'm such a Dame!' Tsuna yelled in his head while he lay his head on his desk. He just had to wait and not give them the attention they wanted. 'They'll stop soon enough. Well, they'll stop when the teacher gets here.' Tsuna hoped.

"Shut up!" yelled the same rough voice he heard yesterday, saying those same words. Tsuna looked up at Gokudera in shock and amazement.

"Yeah, he isn't a dame, and it isn't nice to laugh at others flaws. I have my flaws too." Yamamoto laughed, but once again, he smiled in a way that scared Tsuna a little. He was not giving off the same nice guy look that he usually tried to give off.

"I agree," called out an unexpected, sweet voice. The entire class turned to it. "It's not okay to be rude to another classmate." Sasagawa Kyoko was standing next to her friend staring intensely at the other classmates.

"Yeah, can't you monkeys be civil," yelled out her taller friend, Kurokawa Hana.

Tsuna stared at the girls in shock. These sweet people were standing up for him. They didn't even know him. Everyone in the classroom was silent. They all just looked away and began to chat with one another. They decided to ignore Tsuna, and that was okay with him. Even though they were acting like nothing was wrong, they continued to glare at Tsuna.

Gokudera sat at his seat and turning to face Tsuna who still looked in shock. Yamamoto walked up to the girls and said thank you to them. They smiled in return, and then glanced over at Tsuna. The short girl was smiling sweetly, and the other was smirking proudly. The three of them sat down, and Yamamoto began talking to Tsuna and Gokudera.

xxxxxx

The teacher came into the classroom apologizing for his tardiness. He began to call out names to come pick up their tests. The teacher called out Gokudera's name and Tsuna looked up. Tsuna saw Gokudera, unwillingly, get out of his chair to get his paper. A paper, Tsuna was sure, had nothing but red on it. When he got back, he placed it on his desk. Tsuna's eyes bulged at what he saw.

"Haha, you're still so smart Gokudera," laughed Yamamoto as he left to get his paper. Tsuna couldn't believe it. Gokudera had a perfect grade. His paper was covered in check marks and pencil markings. The numbers and information on the paper made Tsuna's head spin with confusion. He felt like it was all some sort of computer language. Yamamoto returned with his paper laughing. He placed it on his desk. "Looks like all my guessing saved me again, haha!" Yamamoto laughed looking happy with his barely passing grade.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," Tsuna jumped at his name. He stood and walked up to the teacher. He didn't look forward to what he was about to see. Tsuna took the paper from the teacher who was giving him a sympathetic look.

'How bad is it?' Tsuna thought as he took the paper. He didn't look at it while he made his quick walk to his desk. He made it to his desk and began to look at all the red marks on his paper. The grade above was not even there. Instead, there was a note.

'Sawada-san, I see you will be struggling in this class. I recommend a tutor of some kind. If you do not have anyone in mind and would like recommendations, stay after class. I recommend taking this advice. I will later begin to stay after school to give extra lessons. Your decision on how you want to handle this. Ask me any questions you may have.'

Tsuna stared at the note. He was shocked that the teacher was actually encouraging Tsuna to try harder. At his old school, the teacher did not care if Tsuna failed. The teacher actually took pleasure in his failure. Tsuna worked hard but had no friends to help him, Dame-Tsuna. Tsuna looked up to his teacher with shocked eyes. The teacher noticed him staring and smiled back. Tsuna felt encouraged for once in his life.

xxxxxx

Yamamoto and Gokudera grabbed their lunches and headed to Tsuna. Tsuna had just grabbed his own when he saw the two of them in front of him.

"Let's have lunch together, Tsunayoshi," Yamamoto said grinning at Tsuna. He smiled back brightly before nodding. "We usually like going on the roof, if Hibari doesn't mind," he whispered to himself. "Do you wanna go there?"

"Sure, let's go." Tsuna rose out of his chair, and they began to head out.

As they walked to the door they heard someone call out, "Mind if we join you guys?" The three guys looked back at Kyoko and her friend, Hana, with their lunches in their hands, smiling at the boys.

"Sure," Tsuna spoke out. The five of them left the room, not paying attention to stares and glares they received as they walked out.

xxxxxx

The five of them arrived on the roof and sat in a circle. They were enjoying the light breeze and the not too sunny sky. Tsuna began to feel nervous. He was around so many people who were not there to tease or bully him.

"Th-thank you for earlier, Sasgawa-san Kurokawa-san," Tsuna said with a timid smile on his face. The girls looked at Tsuna's smile and couldn't look away. The smile was sweet and very appreciative. They felt a warmth from such a small smile.

"You're welcome, but they shouldn't be laughing about anything or calling someone they don't even know a dame." Tsuna could tell how passionate Kyoko was when she spoke about their teasing.

"You shouldn't let them do that to you anyway. Your gorillas can't always protect you. You should try standing up to them yourself," Hana said not too nicely.

"I'm sorry. I was recently told the same thing yesterday, but I have yet to take action for myself. Even so, I plan to do better next time and not just for myself. I hope that soon you all won't have to worry about me." Tsuna spoke with determination. His eyes help that same determination. He then broke into a deeply encouraging smile as if he was encouraging them. All of them were stunned for a moment before they each gave Tsuna a smile of their own or smirk in Gokudera's case.

They all began to eat in comfort until Yamamoto asked Tsuna how he did on the test. Tsuna began to panic inside. He remembered how horrible his paper looked. Tsuna thought of whether he should lie or just tell them the flat out truth. He decided on the truth. In all honesty, he didn't want to lie to his friends. 'Are they my friends?' he wondered before he spoke.

"I didn't do too good at all." Tsuna looked down as he pulled out his paper. "I even have a note here saying to get a tutor or stay for extra classes. It's just the second day of school too." Tsuna was scared to look up and see what expression the others had on. Tsuna knew they would think of him as a dame. The silence spread until he heard rustling. He looked up to see everyone pulling out their own papers.

Yamamoto laughed "I didn't do too good either. I was told a tutor would help increase my score and ensure myself of a passing grade this year, so I wouldn't have to worry about failing and missing baseball."

"I was told to work on long equations and fractions because it will be on every test we take. I was going to ask Hana to help me. If you can, Hana?"

"Sure thing, I also need practice, so tutoring really helps me strengthen my own skills." Gokudera looked at the others grades before putting his paper down. They stared at it.

"Gokudera-kun, you did a perfect score. Amazing!"

"Wow, I have to say you must be really smart."

"He's always been this smart," Yamamoto laughed.

Kyoko looked up to Tsuna and said, "Maybe Gokudera-kun can tutor you, Tsunayoshi-kun."

"Yeah and me too. Haha!" Yamamoto laughed. Tsuna looked at Gokudera who gave no clue of how he felt about the suggestion. Gokudera saw Tsuna staring at him and flushed.

"I'll help you if you want. I assume you don't want to prove everyone in class that you are a dame."

Tsuna smiled brightly before nodding his head."Please, I would really appreciate it if you could. I'm sure my grade would have a great increase with your help." Tsuna looked into Gokudera's eyes. He could see unsure feelings seeping from them, but Tsuna knew the teen felt pride.

"Haha! Alright, well then how about today?"

"Sure! You both can come over," Tsuna said with so much happiness.

Suddenly, the door to the roof opened with a bang. A group of boys entered looking like angry monkeys. They walked up to their small group, glaring at Tsuna. The small brunet stared in fear at the older teens.

"What do you want, stupid monkeys?" Hana insulted the guys.

"Shut up, we are here to deliver a message to this wimp here," the taller one said while continuing to glare at Tsuna. "Kensuke Mochida, the captain of the kendo club, challenges Dame Tsuna to a Kendo match over who has the right of Sasagawa Kyoko today after school! Do you accept?"

"That's so low, what a jerk!"

"Shut up!"

"Now, now everyone. Let's all calm down. Why does he challenge Tsunayoshi? He didn't do anything to the guy, did he?"

"He is trying to steal Kyoko-chan from the captain!"

"N-no, I'm not," he said nervously but felt very upset about what they said about his friend. 'Is she a friend? It doesn't matter!'

"Kyoko is not your captain's either!"

They ignored Hana as they continued to glare at Tsuna. "Are you going to deny this challenge or will you wimp out?"

"I will… accept." They all stared at Tsuna in shock before the guys left looking satisfied. Tsuna turned to the girls, mainly Kyoko. He stared into her eyes.

"I am only agreeing so I can inform this guy that you are not some prize. I do not agree to his terms, and I will tell him that. So please don't think lowly of me, I will fight for you but in my own way." Tsuna looked up to Hana and nodded his head as if making sure that was okay with her too. She nodded back. Gokudera stared in awe and surprise at the short boy. Yamamoto couldn't help how he felt impressed with Tsuna. Tsuna was going to face those bullies, and he looked strong at that moment.

"So after we deal with them, we can head to my house for our tutoring lesson." Tsuna was smiling his dazzling smile at his four new friends he made. He seemed to have so much confidence in himself at this moment. Yamamoto and Gokudera couldn't help nodding in agreement to Tsuna, but they still gave each other worried looks.

BANG! The five friends jumped to the sudden noise and the bloodlust they felt.

"I'll bite you to death."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"RUN!" Tsuna screamed. He could feel the dangerous aura Hibari was giving them. They all grabbed their things and ran back to the classroom just before the bell rang.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry, we had a storm so I had to edit it quickly because I didn't want to wait longer to post. Enjoy! I like this chapter, so I hope you do too.**

 **Disclairment: Do not own!**

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Chapter 4

By the time school ended, everyone around knew that 2nd year Mochida had challenged Dame Tsuna to a kendo match. Everyone was shocked that Tsuna had agreed to it and even amazed that the beautiful 1st-year, Kyoko, was the prize.

When the final bell rang, everyone ran to the gym to witness the match. Tsuna and his new friends waited until everyone was out of the room before heading out. As they walked to the gym, the four friends kept sending Tsuna questioning and worried glances while walking to the gym. They felt doubtful of Tsuna surviving what Mochida had planned for the small boy.

"Don't worry," Tsuna said as they made it to the gym doors. He walked in with a tall posture and powerful presence. His new friends, looking confident, followed him in, but on the inside, they couldn't help worrying about the brunet.

"You came, you piece of shit!" said an obnoxious voice. Tsuna looked up to the person. It was a dark-haired teen and he looked strong, stronger than Tsuna. "Let's get started then, I shall smite you!" Mochida smirked at Tsuna like you already won. 'Won a screaming contest maybe,' Tsuna thought to himself.

"Don't worry! This is an easy duel that even an idiot like you can understand. Since you're a novice at kendo, all you have to do is get one point off me then you win! If you can't, then I win! The prize is, of course, Sasagawa Kyoko!" Tsuna was quiet. He wouldn't say anything and just nodded.

The audience was watching Dame Tsuna intently, perhaps waiting for him to run away or start begging for his life. However, his four friends could not take their eyes off him. Mochida seemed to be dominating, but Tsuna constantly dodged all of his attacks. Mochida continued attacking Tsuna as Gokudera noticed something.

"Tsuna has not even attempted to take a point."

His friends worried a little on the inside, but they did their best not to show it. They only wanted to show the confidence they had to Tsuna. They were sure Tsuna was weak in strength, but they still felt confident in Tsuna had something hidden they wanted to see.

"Do you give up?" The older teen snidely asked. Tsuna only smiled back in response. He didn't answer him with words. The older teen seemed to hesitate to hit, perhaps he was surprised by Tsuna's reaction.

"I think it's time to end this," said Tsuna quietly to himself. Tsuna took the opportunity of Mochida's surprise to launch one attack. Tsuna's kendo sword hit Mochida's side. Tsuna watched as he rolled on the floor. Mochida seemed to be unmoving on the ground. Tsuna looked curiously at him. 'I didn't hit him that hard. Did I?' Tsuna looked to the referee who was Mochida's minion. Tsuna stood there staring into his eyes. The other teen began to shake in fear as if he saw something scary in Tsuna's eyes. Before he could say anything, a scream was heard. They all turned to the direction it came from, the entrance.

"..."

"Run away!"

"Ahhh!"

People began to scurry and run. They were all scared of the devil who entered the gym. Hibari, the leader of the Namimori's Disciplinary Committee, walked in with tonfas out and ready to slay everyone. The students all tried to get away, but he hit every single one of them.

"I will bite you all to death for crowding."

Hibari continued to attack all the students as he got closer to Tsuna. Tsuna's friends all ran up to him. Some seemed to be on guard, the other two hid behind Tsuna. Even Hana seemed to fear Hibari a little. Hibari stood in front of the small group as he scanned the area to see what had occurred here. He saw Mochida on the ground unconscious, the referee scared to death, and Tsuna with the kendo stick.

"You won against him?"

"Yes"

"Hn"

"…"

Tsuna watched as the scary teen stared at him. Tsuna saw something in the perfect's eyes that he had not seen in a long time. It was not anger but maybe lonesomeness, perhaps. Suddenly, Hibari attacked Tsuna. Tsuna was so distracted with his thoughts that he was slow to block when he saw Yamamoto block the attack with Mochida's sword.

"Haha! Now, now Hibari. Let's not attack each other here. I am not trying to crowd you, and we did not start this... disturbance. Mochida was the one to put together this crowd. So how about you punish him when he wakes up, okay?"

Hibari stared at the baseball player. He wasn't scared of him. Hibari knew he could take the laughing idiot down easily, but something about the suggestion was tempting. Also, that better had been a suggestion and not an order because if it was he was going to be bitten to death. Hibari finally turned around, grabbed Mochida and left to punish the group of friends stood there watching after them.

"Let's go home." Tsuna started to head out. His others followed. They each felt like they were in a daze. They felt amazed at how mature Tsuna seemed to be. They acknowledged him as a reliable leader that they admired strongly.

BANG! They sweatdropped. 'Maybe he's not that much of an amazing leader after all.' Tsuna lay flat on the ground face first into the gym floor.

They sweatdropped and stared in shock. 'Maybe he's not that much of an amazing leader after all,' they all thought as they helped Tsuna off the ground where he lay, face against the hard gym floor.

xxxxxx

They arrived at Yamamoto's house. He ran inside followed by the rest. They walked in and looked around the restaurant. There were tables lined up at the wall and at the bar stood a man who looked very similar to Yamamoto. Yamamoto walked up to the counter followed by his friends.

"Dad, I was invited to my friend's place for a tutoring session. Is that alright?" asked Yamamoto. The man looked up with surprised eyes. He looked from the girls to the two boys.

"Oh, hello there you two. I see, so they're your friends, Takashi." He walked around to the bar and stood in front of the teens. Tsuna noticed that the man stood in between Yamamoto and them, but he didn't mention it.

"Hello, my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, and Gokudera-kun is going to tutor us at my house. Yamamoto-kun wanted to come with if it was okay with you. Also, since it is later than usual, why doesn't Yamamoto-kun spend the night? What do you think Yamamoto-kun?"

Tsuna had intense eyes as he looked at Yamamoto, waiting for his answer. Yamamoto felt a warm sensation swell inside himself. He smiled and laughed. Tsuna noticed the honest happiness in his smile.

"I'd love to!" Yamamoto ran off upstairs. They assumed to get his stuff to sleep over. Tsuna smiled fondly after him. Yamamoto's dad watched him leave.

"Of course, if you don't mind," Tsuna said to the adult. Tsuna continued to smile. Yamamoto's father stared back and couldn't look away from the friendly smile he had.

"No problem," he said after a moment. The man couldn't help the smile that came as he watches his son come running excitedly to them with his bag in hand. "Don't be a bother and say thank you to his mom."

"No problem, Dad. I am ready!" Yamamoto laughed with joy. His eyes glowing with hope.

"Let's go, and thank you," Tsuna spoke to the old man.

They walked out and headed out.

xxxxxx

They arrived at the split where they were to say bye to the girls.

"We'll see you monkeys tomorrow."

"Thank you for everything, Tsunayoshi-kun."

Tsuna smiled a small smile. He didn't look too comfortable with the thank you. "I-it's no problem, really." They waved goodbye, and Tsuna to look at Gokudera. "D-do you need to go home Gokudera-kun?"

"Not really, since I live by myself."

"Ar-are you not spending the night?" Tsuna asked looking questionably at the taller boy. Gokudera stared at the boy just as confused and hesitant.

"I didn't think I was asked too." Gokudera looked to Tsuna. He could tell the other was feeling distrustful.

"I meant both of you, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna spoke honestly. "I-if you want though. I j-just thought it would be b-better since it is already late." Gokudera continued to stare at the boy unsure. He looked into those chocolate brown eyes.

"I'll stay over since it is late."

"Haha, awesome well I have some extra clothes since I pretty much grabbed a handful of shirts and pajama pants."

"That's just like you, baseball freak," Gokudera grumbled as he leads the way to Tsuna's home. Tsuna smiled broadly as he jogged after him. He caught up and followed on Gokudera's left, and Yamamoto followed next to Tsuna. They arrived at Tsuna's house before the sun began to set.

"I'm home!"

"Tsu-kun, welcome home! Where have you been? Did you have to stay after class? Oh, hello there!" Tsuna's mom, Nana, walked out to greet them. "Are you both friends of Tsu-kun's?"

"Hai, ma'am" Yamamoto said politely. Gokudera just stared at her."I'm Yamamoto Takashi and this is Gokudera Hayato. We are here for a tutoring session and if it's alright, a sleepover too, haha!"

Nana smiled radiantly. Tsuna could tell, right away, she was ecstatic that he made friends at school.

"No problem, dinner is ready, so why don't you boys go put your things away in Tsu-kun's room."

"Thanks, Mom!" The boys ran upstairs and came down just as quickly.

"Sorry, my room is small, we actually have three spare rooms, but they are pretty dusty."

"It's okay."

"It's whatever really."

They ate dinner and talked a lot. Well, Tsuna's mom and Yamamoto did. Tsuna felt so happy with his new friends, and once dinner was finished, they ran upstairs to start studying. They sat around Tsuna's little table and took out their textbooks. Gokudera had them start on the 1st problem of their homework. He pulled out some glasses and wore them as he pulled out a paper. Tsuna looked over at it and saw it covered in pencil markings.

"Wow! You're done already?" Tsuna screamed as he saw numbers and letter clutter the page. Gokudera smiled proudly.

"Yeah. I finished before class ended."

"Haha, that's awesome!"

The two boys did the first problem and Tsuna screamed that he didn't get it as Yamamoto gave Gokudera his paper.

"Now, now, I only guess if I don't know, haha!"

"Guessing is not going to cut it all the time, baseball freak! It's okay, Tsunayoshi. You can do it." Gokudera said encouragingly. Tsuna just started in a daze as he looked into Gokudera's 'puppy dog eyes?' Tsuna thought. Tsuna shook his head and tried again. Gokudera looked over Yamamoto's paper and marked the ones wrong.

Gokudera turned to Tsuna to try explaining the problem and how to solve it again. As he explained in words Tsuna should have understood, Tsuna just couldn't hold on to any of the words to understand. Gokudera noticed the dizzy and glazed look on Tsuna's face again and stopped talking.

"Ask me anything, and I will show you number by number and step by step. Even if you don't finish, the teacher will see you are progressing. So let's start again."

Tsuna sighed deeply. "Okay." Tsuna began to work on the problem again.

Knock! Knock! Nana comes in with a tray of cookies and juice.

"Here are some snacks to keep you motivated!"

"Thanks, mom."

"Thank you, Tsunayoshi's mom!"

"Thanks."

Nana's smile was ridged as she left, and Tsuna sighed, once again, for a new reason.

xxxxxx

Nana is downstairs cleaning the dishes. She enjoyed hearing all the new laughter and commotion that was foreign in the usually quiet house.

RING RING RING

Nana dried her hand and went to the ringing phone.

"Hello, Sawada Residence."

 _"-"_

"Oh! Hello, hun!"

 _"-"_

"Oh, I see."

 _"-"_

"Of course!"

 _"-"_

"Tsu-kun? Ummm. I wouldn't know really."

 _"-"_

"It's okay hun. Just go ahead with it and I'm sure Tsu-kun will be okay. It's time to move on you know that and I know that. I hope Tsuna can know that too," she whispered that last of her words.

"-"

"Love you too. Bye."

She hung up and looked upstairs still hearing the laughter. 'I hope he will be okay, too.'

xxxxxx

Later, Tsuna was able to get 4 problems done without Gokudera's help. Tsuna and Yamamoto finished the page just before bedtime. Gokudera went to take the first bath and then Yamamoto.

"H-how does it look?"

"It's okay. I definitely see a big improvement."

"R-really? Wow! Thank you for the help today, Gokudera-kun."

"No problem."

Tsuna looked pleased and when Yamamoto was back, he then left to bathe.

xxxxxx

Tsuna came back after saying goodnight to his mother. As he walked into his room, he was hit in the head with a pillow.

"I'm sorry, Tsuna-sama!"

"Sorry about that Tsuna! Haha!"

They said it at the same time. Tsuna looked up at the two in shock and curiosity.

"What?"

Suddenly they both blushed and began looking away. Tsuna couldn't see their expression but he wasn't trying to see either.

"I don't know why I said Tsuna instead of Tsunayoshi. I'm sorry."

"It's okay... I-I'm just unsure of how I feel about the new name is all..."

"Now, now! Don't worry about it. I think it just slips. No big deal! Let's head to bed."

"Yeah..."

Tsuna looked to Gokudera. He could now tell he had a confuse and serious look. Tsuna thought it was best that they forget it now.

"So, what were you two doing?"

"Haha, just a game," Yamamoto laughed out as he looked a little sheepish

"Baseball freak here started throwing pillows at me, so I threw one back. I didn't mean for it to hit you. I'm sorry," Gokudera mumbled to Tsuna as he was now looking at them.

"It's okay," Tsuna smiled his usual welcoming smile and the two boys relaxed a little now that Tsuna was himself again.

The boys began to spread out the futons, and all three of them lay on the futons as they watched tv. They decided to watch a movie before bed as a reward for their hard work. They all passed out sleeping on top of each other. Legs over stomachs arms on arms and snoring.

Nana came to visit the boys to make sure they were okay and turn off Tsuna's tv that they left on. She walked in and saw the three boys spread out sleeping in such weird positions. She giggled as she left the boys.

Three new best friends began the night sleeping with Gokudera closer to the door and then Tsuna and lastly Yamamoto. Somehow, Gokudera ended up having his head at the feet end while Yamamoto now slept diagnolly so his feet where away from Gokudera's face. Tsuna was still, somehow, in the middle curled up in the fetal position. It looked like Gokudera and Yamamoto boxed the boy in with their heads, legs, and arms like they were protecting him.

Nana came back to snap a picture still giggling.

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 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Review and Favorite please.**


	5. Chapter 5

**My fifth chapter and I'm excited I've gotten this far. Thank you for the review! This chapter is shorter, but hopefully, you still enjoy it.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! or it's characters.**

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Chapter 5

The rest of the week and half of the next week passed by quickly for Tsuna and his new friends. After their first study session, the boys have made it a habit of going home with Tsuna to do homework and staying over. They decided on Fridays they would spend the night to have a movie night or whatever. Yamamoto would not come over on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and some of Sundays because he had to help his dad with the restaurant.

However, Gokudera actually came over every night and often spent the night. It was so common that Tsuna's mom bought an extra toothbrush, and shampoo "that will work great for Gokudera-kun's type of hair". Tsuna had even made a permanent spot for his futon until they could clean a room or move in a bed since Tsuna's room is the biggest.

When Tsuna's mom heard Gokudera was living alone, she automatically asked him to stay over for dinner every night. Last night, she even asked him to come live with them. Gokudera said he didn't want to impose more on them, and he said living independently was a dream for a high schooler. She didn't force it more, but Tsuna could tell she wanted to fight back.

Right now, Tsuna was walking home from school alone, without Yamamoto and Gokudera. Yamamoto had the first day of tryouts for the baseball team, and Gokudera said he had an interview for a part-time job so he wouldn't be coming over for dinner. Tsuna was now alone as he turns the last corner to home

For the past week, Tsuna's nightmare has been away from home. He believed the owners were away and took him somewhere or with them, so Tsuna has not had to run away from it. Tsuna finally arrived at home feeling a little sad... and alone. Every day now is has been loud and exciting. That's to be expected, Tsuna had learned, when around Yamamoto and Gokudera. Therefore, today's trip home brought gloomy feelings to Tsuna.

Tsuna is always thought of as a happy child, a dame, but a happy dame. He was always all smiles and someone who loves all lives, except maybe his nightmare. Even so, he didn't wish harm to the beast. He only wanted it to leave him alone. However, even if he is such a happy child, right now was a moment he wished to be in his room, alone. He didn't feel like being his happy self right now. When he was alone, he felt the need stay alone. At least, he felt that way until life presented him a new moment.

xxxxxx

Finally, at the entrance, Tsuna walks in and knocks into a black puffy cotton ball? 'What the?' Tsuna thought as he reached down scared of it but curious to know what it was.

"Tsu-kun," Nana came running toward him.

"I'm home," he said as she got to him and reached down for the black cotton ball on the floor. "What is that?" he asked his mother. It began to wiggle around in her arms. Tsuna jumped back scared of what it could possibly be.

"Say hello to your new little brother!" Nana exclaimed.

"What?" Tsuna screamed as he saw the thing unravel itself. A little boy in a cow printed onesie, with an unruly bed of hair, and horns at the side of his head stared up at Tsuna. He looked scared like he was about to cry. He seemed to be about six years old or so.

"Your father found him at work in an unsafe home, and he was an orphan there. He seems to believe that the horrible place was his home and his family... Well anyways, it was called Bovino Home for Children and Lost Workers" Nana began explaining. The little boy began to tear up as he watched Tsuna like he was scared of angering him and getting yelled at.

"Your father couldn't allow for him to suffer anymore especially since little Lambo got attached to him. So I know this is a big change, and we should have spoken to you before we decided. It was just that he had to decide quickly. Lambo would have been taken to another foster home. Please play nice and help Lambo adjust to his new life," Nana finished with a sad smile as she waited for an answer.

Tsuna saw his mom's eyes. They had the same sadness as her smile did. To him, it looked like his mom was waiting to see his reaction and maybe even scared of his reaction. He looked down into his mom's arms and watched the little cow swarm around until it got out of her arms and ran off.

"I understand. Don't worry. Besides… I've always wanted a little brother!" Tsuna said with his heart melting smile in place.

"Oh thank you, Tsu-kun!" Nana had small tears in the corners of her eyes as hugged Tsuna tightly. 'She was scared.'

"No problem," Tsuna said, happy to have done something right today. He's eyes glazed as he looked toward the living room where the calf ran off to.

Nana ran off to begin making dinner not noticing Tsuna's gaze. She screamed back, "Please help Lambo settle in, Tsu-kun! Help him find a room!"

Tsuna began heading into the living area in search of the calf. He found the calf stuffing his face with grape candies while sitting on the ground. Tsuna walked up to him and sat down in front of him.

"Hi there." He spoke softly to the small boy. He could already tell the small boy was nervous and frightened. "My name is Tsuna, and I'm really happy if you would be my little brother…" Tsuna smiled at the boy. Lambo looked up curiously at Tsuna. Tsuna noticed how Lambo felt unsure of him, and he noticed the little calf was protecting his grape candies. "Don't worry. I won't take them from you. They are yours." Tsuna was still smiling as he watched the little boy for a reaction.

"I'm Lambo of the Bovino Family," he said after a while.

'Probably finally believed my words,' Tsuna thought.

"Hello, Lambo-kun. Do you know that my family will be taking care of you from this day on?" Tsuna tried explaining. Lambo stared at Tsuna curiously before nodding slowly and then shaking his head no, making Tsuna confused.

"Well, what I'm trying to say is Lambo-kun is going to be staying here and living with us. You're going to be a part of our family from today on, and it is going to be great. You'll make new friends here and have a big bedroom for yourself. Also, Mom's food is amazing. You'll really love it. Do you want to go pick out a room? You have three to choose from." Tsuna said as he stood up.

Lambo looked up at Tsuna as he spoke. Lambo stood up after he stuffed all his grape candies into his hair and mouth. Tsuna grimaced at how unhygienic that was but reached down to offer him his hand to hold. Lambo stared at it. He was thinking Tsuna wanted his candies. Suddenly, Tsuna took his little hand in his and began walking to the stairs. Lambo stared in awe at Tsuna like he was some mythical beast.

xxxxxx

The first room was across from the guest room. It was a small room compared to the others, and it was cluttered with some boxes from Tsuna's childhood. 'Mom must have brought them down from the attic.' Tsuna was in shock to see it cleaned but still bare of everything but a mattress. 'She must want to take him out shopping for new things for his new room.

The next room was a bit bigger. It had a full-size bed with classic blankets and plain color walls. Tsuna could tell it was still being cleaned, but it was decent for a guest room. 'When did Mom do all this? Why hasn't she let Gokudera-kun sleep in one of these rooms?' Tsuna looked down at Lambo who seemed interested but wanting to go see more.

Tsuna explained that there was one left. They went next door and it was across from another door with fish on taped to it. Tsuna turned to point to his room.

"That one across from here is my room and next door to here is Mom's room. The one next door is the restroom, okay?" Tsuna looked down to the boy to make sure he understood. He nodded.

Tsuna noticed Lambo staring at Nana's bedroom door for a second before walking into the bedroom. The inside looked like a nursery or little boy's room. The walls were painted a bright blue and clouds decor on them. There was a window with protective bars on but low enough for even Lambo to see out of. The glass was a shatter proof material. 'Dad was always so overprotective.'

Tsuna was watching Lambo as he walked around the second biggest bedroom in the house. Lambo walked over to the small bed and sat as he looked around. There were more boxes of Tsuna's childhood around. Tsuna walked and sat next to Lambo hands ou to catch him as he fell toward him from the extra weight.

"We can change anything you want Lambo-kun," Tsuna began as he waited for Lambo to speak.

"Lambo likes it, but I think it would look prettier with more," Lambo said as his eyes shined as he stared at the walls. "Like rain over there and thunder! And over there a pretty sun shining down on Lambo!"

"Sure! I'll talk to Mom about it, so we can go shopping this weekend." Tsuna smiled brightly at the little boy who was just as excited now. Tsuna smiled a big smile now. He was happy Lambo was a happy and excitable child. He was scared the boy would not like him. That was one of his biggest fears when he was introduced to his new little brother. "So this the room you want?" Lambo nodded quickly with hopeful eyes.

"Great! Let's go see Mom, so we can start planning what to buy for your room." Tsuna reached down to lift Lambo off the bed as he carried him out of the room for dinner.

xxxxxx

Lambo jumped out of his arms running to Nana. Tsuna couldn't help the laugh that escaped him as he saw his little brother excited and happy. He continued to smile when he saw his mom picking him up and listening to his words.

"We foud a room." Tsuna began to say as he wanted to explain what Lambo was most likely saying to her. "It's my old bedroom. He liked the walls and wants to paint more things on it. I personally think it was the best match."

"Oh, that's so great! I thought you would like that one, Lambo-kun!"

"Mom, tomorrow after school we could go buy Lambo his things since I know you want to do that immediately."

"Oh, yes! Let's do that Lambo-kun! Since his room is not going to be ready for a few days since we have to paint. Can he sleep with you Tsu-kun?"

"Of course, what do you think Lambo?"

They looked to Lambo's little face as he stared up at them. "Okay!" They laughed and began setting the table for dinner.

"Oh Tsu-kun, where is Gokudera-kun today?"

"Oh, well Gokudera-kun had an interview for a part-time job somewhere. He said he wouldn't be coming today. I'm sorry, I forgot to mention it sooner since we were busy with my new little brother." Tsuna smiled down at Lambo who was eating messily.

xxxxxx

Tsuna jumped in bed with an already half asleep Lambo curled up in his arms. They had just taken a bath that Lambo definitely needed after how messy he ate. Tsuna places Lambo down and watched the little boy's sleeping face as he fell fast to sleep. Tsuna smiled softly as he stared at the little boy who was now snoring softly and peacefully. Today was a memorable moment in Tsuna's life. Tsuna continued to smile and curled up next to his new adorable, little brother.

"Goodnight," he whispered softly as a tear escaped his eyes. He whipped it away and wrapped his arm around Lambo. He held him the whole night.

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 **Nice and short. Sorry, it is so short and for any mistakes you may have found, but I hope it was worth the wait. Did you enjoy it? I like it!**

 **Please review and follow!**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for any errors. I rushed to post.**

 **I've been kind of busy with work and taking care of some family things. I will update again a lot sooner than this time. This chapter was also a little hard for me to type up. I had to make lots of adjustments.**

 **Also, this is more just information. I like it but it might be boring to some. Sorry about that but please enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own anything but the idea to this story and the work I did create this story.**

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Chapter 6

In the next morning, Tsuna woke and rolled over in his sleep wishing to catch more sleep. SMACK!"Ouch!"

"Ouch!"

On the hardwood floor, Tsuna was once again rising from the floor and rubbing his bruised nose as he looked around his room. He curiously wondered if his intuition was acting up again as he felt a pang in his head. Tsuna has had this weird sensation, that he describes as his intuition. This intuition of his would normally warn him of a hard day with lots of disasters. He had grown up with it and began listening to it from time to time as he got older. He doesn't know why but he just does not doubt it anymore. His mother says it is a signal in his mind trying to stop him from doing something stupid.

Tsuna stood up and began to fix his bed as he thought about what his intuition was trying to tell him now. Tsuna was still learning how to read it so he didn't know if he should be worried and how much. Tsuna decided to ignore it for now and to get ready for school.

xxxxxx

After getting dressed and grabbing his school bag, Tsuna ran down the stairs for his breakfast. He could hear his mom talking cheerily. In his hurry down, the messy haired teen began to roll down the stairs landing on the bottom of the steps.

"Ouch…" Tsuna grumbled to himself.

"Are you okay, Tsu-kun? Please be careful!"

"I'm okay." Tsuna rubbed his now sore head. 'Great, I'm going to have a headache all day now.' Tsuna looked up and saw Lambo sitting at the table just starting on his eggs, ham, and toast.

"Morning Lambo-kun," he said as he sat in his spot next to Lambo.

"Buongiorno," Lambo said with his mouth full from eating his toast. Tsuna and his mom stared at the little calf as he continued to eat messily with a big smile on his face. Tsuna had learned some Italian from his dad. Tsuna's dad rarely came home, about twice a year, and always spoke in Italian from time to time. Tsuna actually liked the language when he heard it and started to learn it a little more over the years. Tsuna watched the smiling Lambo who was wiggling around and swinging his legs.

"Why is Lambo so excited today?"

"Lambo and mamma and… " Lambo looked curiously at Tsuna as if asking what to call him. "You can call me whatever you want. Onii-san, Tsuna-nii, Fratello, whatever." Tsuna smiled at the little boy as his eyes shined. Lambo looked like he was thinking really hard about it.

"And Tsu-nii are going out to buy things for my room today!" He continued excitedly. "Lambo wants to have it be all his!" Lambo said excitedly. He then looked to Tsuna as if asking if that was okay. Tsuna nodded to the little Bovino boy to assure him it was ok. Mom walked in at that moment having heard the end of their conversation.

"What is Lambo-kun's favorite color?"

Lambo sat there thinking as if not sure himself. Tsuna and Mamma watched him waiting for the answer. He suddenly had a realization written on his face indicating that he figured it out.

"Verde! Green!" he screamed happily as if it was the most important thing to have discovered. Tsuna laughed at how happy and excited Lambo got. Tsuna got up from his chair and said his goodbyes. As Tsuna was heading out the door he thought about how excited himself about coming home after school 'to come home to a happy household'. Tsuna really had always wanted a younger sibling and now he had one. He felt so many feelings.

xxxxxx

Tsuna froze as he stared at the sleeping beast. 'What's it doing back?!' Tsuna took a deep breath and began to tiptoe past it. He was hoping to get by it safely this time. He froze again at each slight movement the nightmare made in his sleep. Tsuna almost got past the fiend. 'I'm safe!'

"Tsunayoshi! What are you doing?" the voice spooked Tsuna and laughed in a carefree nature. Tsuna spun around and saw Yamamoto around the corner with a few bags in his hands.

"Grrrr"

Tsuna heard the scariest noise he's ever heard in his life, a high-pitched bark right next to him. His nightmare woke up. Tsuna squeaked and ran behind Yamamoto to separate himself from the tiny, blond chihuahua. He hoped Yamamoto would protect him from the angry creature. Yamamoto was unsure of what he was witnessing but tried to soothe the smaller teen.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were scared to wake the dog," Yamamoto spoke trying to laugh off the matter. Tsuna shook his head while it was buried into Yamamoto's back as tears were threatening to fall. But before he could say anything, a grunt from behind made him jump again.

"Eek!" he screamed as he turned around to face a silver haired teen. "G-good morning, Gokudera-kun!"

Gokudera glared into the brunet's eyes. Over the past week, they found out Tsuna only stutters when he's uncomfortable like when he's nervous. Tsuna felt nervous under his glare. He began to fidget believing he had made a mistake somehow. He was about to apologize before Gokudera interrupted.

"Morning," he muttered. It took a minute for Tsuna to register before responding with his bright smile. Yamamoto and Gokudera froze and reboot after seeing the brunet's beautiful smile. Tsuna noticed how quiet it had gotten and tried to get them to respond."S-so what were you buying over here?

"S-so what were you buying over here?"

"Ah! That's right I need to get home." They began to head down the street.

"What was going on?" he asked Yamamoto still glaring at the brunet in between them who looked sheepish. Tsuna felt better now that he was away from the chihuahua though he could still hear his barking around the corner.

"Haha, I kinda woke up this dog and it scared Tsunayoshi. I'm so sorry about that. I didn't mean to."

"Dog?" Gokudera muttered as he thought about. Tsuna knew Gokudera was thinking about when he heard the word dog. He blushed in embarrassment for acting like a dame again.

"I-it's okay. What were you doing over here, Yamamoto?" Tsuna asked trying to avoid the topic of a dog.

"Oh! I was out shopping for my dad. We needed some necessities that he forgot to go shopping for, so, instead, I went out to buy it before school. He is always doing this so I'm used to it by now. Haha!"

"We should hurry up if we don't want to have to deal with Hibari-san."

They nodded, well Gokudera glared, and walked faster to Yamamoto's house. Tsuna learned that Hibari Kyou was a person not mess with. He had asked Yamamoto about Hibari one day. He told him that Hibari was just a scary person to handle. He explained that the teen ruled their old middle school, Namimori Middle School, and he even ruled over the teachers. Yamamoto said that he wouldn't be surprised if Hibari was even ruling this school and its teachers too. Tsuna wondered how a student can rule so much over adults but what scared Tsuna the most was what Gokudera inputted. He said Hibari even ruled all the delinquents and high power people here in the city. Yamamoto then quickly added that it was just a rumor, and there was no proof to support it. Gokudera quickly added that there was no evidence proving it wrong either.

xxxxxx

They arrived at Yamamoto's quickly. He ran inside with the other two following behind him.

"Dad, I'm back!" Yamamoto's dad was already cutting sushi before they opened up the store.

"Welcome home Takashi! Sorry about sending you out like that."

"No problem," Yamamoto said as he set the bags down. Yamamoto smiled intently at his father as he watched him slice the sushi.

"Good morning," Tsuna said as he and Gokudera stood in front of the bar.

"Morning Tsuna, Gokudera!" He looked up at his son's two new friends. Tsuna noticed once again his smile. Today it was a pure happy one. Tsuna could sense the joy coming from his smile, but at the same time, Tsuna saw a hopeful look from his eyes that sent Tsuna's intuition on alert.

"Well, we better head out now."

"Right, bye boys!"

"Alright! Bye, Dad!"

"Have a good day!"

They quickly took off again.

xxxxxx

They arrived at the gates earlier than usual but still rushed to class. They wanted to get into a safe zone, away from Hibari, before he decided to show up and punish them for whatever it is he thinks to accuse them of. Some examples that they have already experienced many times are: disturbing the peace, being loud, and "hoarding". They walked into the classroom and met up with the girls. Tsuna has slowly gotten to know more about the girls too.

Sasagawa Kyoya was a smart girl. She was considered the school idol in middle school but now in high school, she was becoming the school's beauty. He found out that she has an older brother who goes to school here. He wondered why he never saws her with him but she said he did not come during the first week and has yet to return this week as well. Tsuna wondered about that. He was worried her brother was going to get in trouble for not coming to school and will have to face Hibari who Tsuna and his friends have nicknamed the demon perfect.

Tsuna also learned more about Hana Kurokawa. She has been best friends with Kyoko since elementary school. Hana also has this extremely mature feeling about her. The way she acts talks and even thinks. Even so, she constantly refers to the male population as monkeys, and it almost seems to be an act that contrasts with her mature behavior. It shows a side of her that Tsuna was sure not many saw, her childish side.

xxxxxx

The gang of five have made it a habit to have lunch on the roof. They enjoyed the breeze and the sunshine. They enjoyed the fresh air as well, but the one thing they enjoyed the most was the peace they got. The demon perfect, who usually sleeps on the other half of the roof, ensures that there is no disruption of peace. The boys learned quickly how loud they can be to not provoke the perfect to attack.

"How did you do today Tsunayoshi?" Yamamoto started the conversation as they all began to eat from each others bento, another habit they started.

"Okay, I guess," Tsuna said as he got some sushi from Yamamoto's bento. Lately, Tsuna has been doing a decent job on his school work. He understands more every day, but he seems to forget a few lessons back that he learned before, so he continues to fail his tests and has a hard time on homework without Gokudera around. Gokudera works with Tsuna constantly but somehow all the information leaves his mind afterward. Tsuna always gets down after a test because he not only feels like a dame, but he feels like he is wasting Gokudera's hard work.

"It's okay Tsunayoshi," Gokudera said as he reached over handing Tsuna his juice and continued passing one to the girls. "We will work on memorizing and this weekend we can try getting more done."

"There's different ways to teach and learn. The big monkey just needs to figure out what way you can learn from," Hana voiced. She reached over to grab some of Tsuna's Salisbury steak as she handed him a rice ball from her own. "Don't worry though Tsunayoshi-kun, the big monkey will figure it out. It's part of being a tutor." She smiled at him and Tsuna blushed as he was happy to have everyone care so much.

"What's for dessert today Kyoko-chan? Haha!" Yamamoto said as he drinks his milk Gokudera tossed at him. Kyoko looked up from eating some steamed veggies she got from Hana.

"Oh! I hope you guys like it." She opened her bento and leaned it over for them to see. They looked inside the bento with wide eyes. There were five mini cakes inside and on each cake was their face in chibi form made out of icing.

"Wow, Kyoko! It's amazing!"

"It's cute! Haha!"

"It's wonderful Kyoko-san."

"It looks good."

"Hehe. Thanks, I hope you like the taste. I had fun making them." She smiled brightly at her friends.

They ate and talked more. Mostly the girls talking and the boys listening. Over the past week, they now made this agreement to bring a bento for everyone to share. Tsuna brought the main course. Kyoko brought dessert. Hana brought the side dishes. Yamamoto brought the sushi. Gokudera ended up always bring them drinks. He figured out what they like and brought it every day.

They finished eating and the bell was about to ring they cleaned it up and walked to the other half of the roof. Kyoko had placed a wooden bento box, a small box separately packaged, and a drink bottle next to Hibari, the sleeping demon, and walked back to her friends. They smiled, well most of them, and left. They now have this other habit of giving Hibari the extras from their lunch. Today they saved a Salisbury steak, a rice ball, some veggies, and his own cake with a cute glaring Hibari on top. They even made sure to get some traditional green tea for him. They headed out to class.

xxxxxx

RING RING

"Finally!" Yamamoto exclaimed as they began to gather their things to head home. "We don't even have homework so we can actually have an easy weekend."

"R-right."

"What's wrong?" Gokudera asked as he turned to look at Tsuna, who was continuing to pack his books.

"Nothing really. I-I just have news. It's kind of complicated but not so much. Yesterday when I got home, I found out that my parents decided to adopt a little boy from Italy, where my dad worked. I was really surprised and today we are going out to shop for his new room."

"..."

"..."

They stared at Tsuna, and he began to feel nervous of what they were thinking.

"Wow! So you have a little brother now?" Yamamoto screamed with stars in his eyes as he stood next to Tsuna's desk.

"It's what you always wanted right? You okay with it?"

"Yeah. I mean I am nervous about now suddenly being an older brother, and I was really surprised my parents just adopted." They nodded in agreement. The girls came up to them having heard.

"Wow, Tsunayoshi-kun! You must be really excited about it!" Kyoko said as the classroom door opened. They were the last students in the classroom so they knew who it was. The intruder stalked up to the small group and handed a cake container to Kyoko and a wooden bento box to Tsuna.

"I h-hope you l-liked it, H-Hibari-san." Tsuna stuttered smiling. Hibari glared at him and walked off, away from the herd. Tsuna continued to smile knowing that Hibari not trying to kill him was the best answer he could get. He knew Hibari was satisfied.

"Let's go now," Gokudera said as they headed out.

xxxxxx

"My mom and I are going to go shopping for things for my new little brother's room," Tsuna said as he leads them around the corner of where the beast would have been. Tsuna did not see it, so he assumed it was away again. "So let's drop our stuff off at the house and meet up with them. Mom took him earlier to get some simple things, but we'll probably be holding all the bags. Sorry."

"I understand," Yamamoto said as they made it to the house. They ran upstairs and left their bags on Tsuna's bed. They began to head out to the shopping district.

"You know what? I'm surprised they adopted without informing you or something," Yamamoto said they were getting closer to the crowds of people shopping.

"Yeah," Tsuna said as they continued walking. Gokudera and Yamamoto looked at the brunet who looked like he was in a daze.

"What's wrong?" Gokudera mumbled. He glared at anyone in their way as the crowds got thicker.

"Nothing, just hoping I am going to be a good brother." Tsuna stuck close to the older boys as they made it to a cake shop.

"You will! Don't worry!" Yamamoto yelled as Tsuna walked into the cake shop.

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 **Sorry again for the long wait.**

 **Hope you enjoyed and will review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you for the wait! Just finished and sorry for any errors. Enjoy.**

 **Disclairment: I do not own KHR.**

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Chapter 7

Tsuna immediately saw his mother. She was sitting at a table with Lambo in her arms. The little calf was stuffing his face with a mini chocolate cake. He looked like he was chitchatting to himself and Mama. Mama was smiling at the small cow who looked like he was having a great time. Tsuna started heading over to their table with the older two boys following behind. Mama looked up and saw her son heading toward with two tall, strong boys closely behind him.

Mama felt concerned about the two boys being around her son. These boys have shown to care about Tsuna these past two weeks. Even so, as the mother of "Dame-Tsuna", she knew what those bullies called her son. In the past, she tried to stand up for her boy, but now, her son tried to hide the pain and the scars. Her eyes always held hope when she looked at the boys, but her heart gave pain. 'I hope these boys will be with Tsu-kun for a little longer.' Tsuna now stood in front of her with a bright smile.

"Hello, Tsu-kun, Yamamoto-kun, and Gokudera-kun! How was school today?"

"Good. Everyone enjoyed the Salisbury steak you made. I believe even Hibari-san liked. Thank you."

"Haha! Yeah, it was really good!"

"Thank you. It was delicious."

Mama beamed at the three teens. "You're welcome! Just consider it my thanks for taking such great care of Tsu-kun!"

"MOM!"

"Haha! No problem. Tsunayoshi has been a really great friend to us. I know I don't have to tell you this, but he's an awesome guy!" Yamamoto shouted as he smiled widely.

Tsuna stared in shock at what he heard and began to blush. He has never been complimented before. He has only ever heard others call him "Dame-Tsuna". Gokudera made a soft sound from behind him. Tsuna turned to look back at the older, silver-haired teen who was nodding in agreement with what was said. He turned back around blushing and smiling even harder. He felt lucky to have them as his friends. He felt extremely lucky to even have friends at all. Mama smiled with happiness and pride. 'Finally, someone else can see Tsu-kun for who he is,' she thought to herself.

Lambo had been ignoring everything happening around him as he continued to munch on his chocolate cake. Tsuna noticed the small calf finally looking up from his cake once he was finished with it. He lifted the little boy out of his mom's arms. Lambo saw his new big brother reaching for him. As he was looking up at his new brother, he could see a black hair, tall teen on his right, and on the left, he could only see a flash of silver. Lambo wrapped his arms around his new big brother.

"Are you ready to buy things for your room, Lambo-kun?" Tsuna asked the calf as he held him close. Lambo was going to answer his brother when silver suddenly flashed again from behind his big brother.

"Bakadera!"

"Stupid cow!"

The little cow and the silver haired teen yelled out as their eyes landed on each other. Tsuna looked back at Gokudera, surprised by his outburst. Lambo was now sticking his tongue out at Gokudera. While at the same time, Gokudera, himself, was now growling back at Lambo and glaring at the small calf.

"Do you know Lambo-kun, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked worried by his glaring that they might hate each other or be on bad terms.

"... Yeah, I met him at an orphanage that I ran away from earlier in life." Gokudera said looking at Lambo still but with a less anger glare. "He was an annoying kid I was stuck with to take care of often."

"Oh," Tsuna said surprised. Tsuna looked at the two wondering if he should be worried about the hostile looks they gave each other. Tsuna felt like they were hiding something from him, but he decided against bringing it up.

"Now, now you two," laughed Yamamoto, "no fighting. We're all friends here, right?" Tsuna smiled again as he heard Yamamoto's carefree and calming voice broke a tension that he didn't really notice was around. Gokudera and Lambo huffed at each other before turning away from each other as children do when they ignore their parent's scolding or even each other.

xxxxxx

We began to look around the shops. Tsuna held Lambo's hand as they headed down the street. They saw many clothing and sweet shops all around them.

"Lambo wants candy! Lambo wants takoyaki!" Lambo tried to pull Tsuna to the closest vendor shop.

"Lambo-kun, we need to only look at shops to buy things for your room." Tsuna scolded Lambo as they continued down the street to where more home care and living shops were located.

The first shop they stopped at was a paint and lumber store. Mama decided to leave to get Lambo a new desk and wardrobe. The room only had a table and bed. While Mama left for that Tsuna and the boys left to get paint for the walls.

"So Lambo-kun, do you want to change the blue walls and clouds?" Tsuna asked.

"Mmm. Lambo wants to have blue walls and gigantic white clouds all around!"

Tsuna laughed as he grabbed some white and blue paint. He decided to redo the paint job and make bigger clouds in the room since Lambo wanted them.

"What should we do about the clouds? Should we get a tensile to sketch it out?" Tsuna asked as they continued to look around.

"Actually, I could probably do it…" Gokudera mumbled from behind Tsuna. "I can do some artwork so it shouldn't be too hard. Should be simple." Tsuna turned around and smiled.

"Thank you, Gokudera-kun!"

They bought the paint and headed out. Mama had finished ordering everything for Lambo's room and have it be delivered tomorrow to the house. They continued to look around and found another shop. The shop was a home living store.

The group headed to the area with bed sheets. Tsuna and Yamamoto looked at some blue and white sheets and comforters while Gokudera looked at the pillows, but no one noticed Lambo had disappeared from sight.

"Lambo-kun, what do you- Lambo! Where are you? Where did you go, otouto?" Tsuna yelled as he noticed his little brother was gone from his sight. Tsuna looked around calling his name. The others all began to look around for the little calf while Yamamoto tried to calm the nervous brunet. Suddenly, they saw Lambo come running to them with a blanket that he was dragging behind himself.

"Gomen Tsuna-nii!" Lambo apologizes as he ran to his big brother's open arms. "Lambo saw it, and Lambo wants!" He handed Tsuna the comforter he was dragging around. Tsuna stared at it and saw it was a bright green blanket, a shade away from grass green, with yellow lightning on it. "Lambo wants!" Lambo declared a final time as he stared into Tsuna's eyes with stars in his own eyes.

Everyone looked at it and Lambo curiously. Gokudera knew Tsuna had been extremely worried just a moment ago and Lambo was now selfishly wanting a blanket, not even apologizing. He was about to tell the bratty cow just how much of a fool he was when Tsuna hugged Lambo as tears escape his eyes.

"Of course Lambo-kun, whatever you want. Next time, don't run off by yourself and take one of us with you."

Lambo looked at the others worried that he somehow hurt his Tsuna-nii. "Lambo's sorry! Lambo won't do bad again, please… Don't be mad!" Lambo began to cry to the brunet. Tsuna looked at the scene in shock before lifting the little calf up. He stared into his teary eyes.

"I'm not mad Lambo-kun. I was worried. You're my little brother now. I want you safe at all times." Tsuna said with determined eyes and a silent promise to always protect him.

xxxxxx

The group finished shopping for Lambo's room after that. They ended up buying a wardrobe, a desk, a toy chest, some paint, the bed sheets, and a rug. Now, the group was relaxing at the park. Mama sat on a bench as she watched the grown teens play with Lambo. Gokudera stood a small distance away from the playful group while Yamamoto climbed with Lambo through the play castle. Tsuna stood by the two playmates. The small brunet was jumping around and calling to them to be careful like the wonderful worry wort he was.

There were vendors around them with snacks and drinks to sell to the parents and children there. Tsuna looked up as he saw a small, thin looking child walking up to the ice cream vendor shop that was right in front of Tsuna. Tsuna continued to watch the kid. Suddenly, the child tripped on the rocks in front of her. She fell on her face and began to cry and scream from the pain.

Everyone's attention was now on the small child in pain. Salespeople and parents with children went to the child in worry to take care of the young girl. Tsuna continued to look at the little girl feeling a pain in his head. 'Intuition? What's wrong?' Tsuna notices Lambo and Gokudera. They seemed to be whispering to each other.A moment later, Gokudera pointed down toward some bushes that were near a vendor's shop.

A small child quickly ran out of the bushes and to one of the unattended shops with a bag, and he began to stuff the merchandise into the bag. He saw the skinny child take water, fruit, and veggies. Tsuna noticed how the little kid kept glancing at the other child on the ground who had adults gathered around her. Tsuna walked over to the little boy and grabbed his hand, surprising the child.

"Don't scream," the brunet ordered the smaller brunet. "You don't want to get caught stealing, now do you?"

The little boy was in shock that the tall teen caught him. He felt himself being pulled away from the vendor's shop. Before the teen and he left the shop, he placed money on the counter. The small brunet was stunned at what he saw and then was dragged away again. The little boy was taken to two others. A silver-haired delinquent and a carefree fool. He was left with them as the taller brunet left him. He saw the teen heading to his friend on the ground.

Tsuna walked up to the little girl and knelt down to her whispering "Calm down, sweet child. Why don't you come with me and see your friend?" He began to lift her into his arms as he leads her away from the crowd. The tiny girl was scared and surprised. She had seen what he did with her friend and was scared of what he would do to them.

They made it back to the group. The little girl looked at her friend. He could tell she was frightened and personally, he was too. They stared at the teens who surrounded them.

"Stay calm, okay? Why don't you go join your friend?" Tsuna said as he smiled brightly to the girl as he set her down. She looked at her ally who still gripped the full bag in his hands. She sat next to Yamamoto and her friend. Tsuna sat next to Gokudera and the small boy.

"So, what was happening? Why do you have to do such things?" he asked them. They stayed silent.

"They are most likely street kids. Steal for food and have no home to return to, or at least, they don't want to return to it." Gokudera said softly and sympathetically. Tsuna noticed the soft look he gave Lambo then to the other kids.

"I see," Tsuna said as he looks to his mother who they were now sitting with on the benches."Mom, their situation, I'm sure you already know, is horrible. Can we see about taking them in?"

"Sure, Tsu-kun!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I was thinking the same thing!" Tsuna knew his mom would never leave children on the streets. His mom was too caring to leave them to suffer anywhere. It was just not the right thing to do.

Tsuna looked back at the two confused children next to him. They now had more curiosity about what Tsuna was talking about that anything else.

"I'm Tsuna, the mean looking one is Gokudera-kun, and the one full of grins is Yamamoto. What're your names?"

"I'm Fuuta and she's Ipin."

"Those are cute names!" Mama screamed as she looked at them with her motherly smile.

"Where are you from? You both look like foreigners." Yamamoto noticed.

"..."

"That's okay!" Tsuna patted them on their heads. They looked up at the brunet in surprise. "So what do you two think about coming with us?"

"..."

"Would you like to come home with us to get some food?"

"..."

"How about coming home with us and getting a good night's rest too?"

"Lambo loves it there! You two will too!"

"You want us to live with you?" Fuuta finally spoke, being the courageous one.

"Yeah, you two will love home. How about we all head over there now? Try spending the night and if you want to leave, you can." Tsuna spoke to them. They stared at Tsuna for a moment. They still felt unsure but this teen made them feel safe. Slowly they nodded their heads. Tsuna broke out into his gorgeous smile that lit everyone's mood up. The big group all stared at him before each breaking out their own smiles.

"Let's go then!"

* * *

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 **The next chapter is hopefully updated soon. I'm still in the middle of typing it up.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you for the wait. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I certainly did myself. I hope my errors are not too much. I work my hardest on those. I have many ideas but my writing skills are a work in progress.**

 **Disclaimer: DO NOT OWN KHR**

* * *

Chapter 8

The sun was setting as the group arrived at home. Once everyone was inside, Tsuna leads the group of kids upstairs as Mama headed upstairs with Fuuta to find clothes that would fit him.

"Let's get you guys clean and get you some clothes. After we're done, we can eat some of Mama's delicious dinner," Tsuna spoke to Ipin as the walked into his room. Gokudera and Yamamoto walked in after Lambo. Tsuna went to a big box that contained some of Tsuna's old clothes that were for Lambo. Ipin was the same size as Lambo, so he looked for something to give Ipin. Even though the two kids were the same size, they did not act the same. Ipin was a timid girl. She looked around scared now that she was separated from her friend. Tsuna could see in her eyes fear and pain, but he could also see_.

"It's okay Ipin-chan," Tsuna said in a whisper to the girl as he sat next to her on his bed. "We just want to help you and Fuuta-kun out. We hope you two stay with us for a long time!" He smiled down at the small child as he handed her a red shirt and black shorts. She accepted them as Lambo jumped on the bed next to her. He was laughing loudly while the bed bounced him and Ipin. Even Ipin couldn't help the giggles that came out.

"Tsuna-nii is a good guy! Mama is great too!"

"Tsunayoshi is a kind person Ipin-chan. Staying here will be great. You will be fed and taken great care of, and Mama's cooking is the best around." Yamamoto was now squatting down staring into Ipin's eyes as he spoke. His smile was bright and happy. Tsuna swelled up with happiness at what they said. Mama came back with Fuuta and began to talk to Ipin.

"Ipin-chan, do you want me to help you in the bath? We'll get you all cleaned up." Ipin nodded softly and followed Mama out with her new clothes in her hands. Tsuna took and placed Fuuta's folded clothes on his bed.

"Fuuta-kun, if you don't mind, you can bathe with us? We love to play around in the tub. Right, Lambo?"

"Yeah! We play games and Tsuna-nii tickles Lambo!"

Fuuta stared at the two smiling boys as they grinned back at him. He nodded his head at them. Tsuna continued to stare into his eyes. He began to notice Fuuta's eyes showed a very distant and zoned off look. It made him seem like he was in his own world. He was looking and seeing thing Tsuna could not. He wondered what the small 10-year old was thinking. Ipin came in with mama closely behind.

xxxxxx

The boys had begun to move everything out of Lambo's new room to have it set up to paint tomorrow. Mama came into Tsuna's room with Ipin closely behind her. Gokudera and Yamamoto were pulling out their homework as Tsuna was going to the door with Fuuta's hand in his own.

"I'm going to start cooking. Could you boys look after Ipin?" She asked the gang of boys. Tsuna walked over and reached out his other hand for Ipin.

"Of course Mom. We were just about to go look at the other rooms and pick one out for Fuuta-kun. Let's pick one out for you too Ipin-chan! Just in case!" Tsuna exclaimed excitedly. Tsuna, with their hands in his, walked them out the door and down the hall. Gokudera and Yamamoto watched as they left. They were sitting at the small table in his room. They stared at the door for awhile before turning back to their homework they now had out.

"Ahoshi, how has it been for you?"

"It's been great!" Lambo screamed from his place on the floor as he sucked on a grape candy that magically came out of nowhere, or so one thought if they did not know Lambo. Gokudera knew him though, and he knew the trick with Lambo's hair was that it was a magical portal or possibly a vortex where Lambo stored his things in.

"I'm scared I'm being replaced," the small boy whispered. Gokudera stared at him a second seeing the fear and terror in his eyes.

"You won't be. Tsunayoshi's happy to have you."

"Promise?"

"Promise"

Gokudera was silent as he continued to stare at the small boy. His eyes had teared up but he rubbed them away before smiling to himself.

"Lambo knows that! Lambo was kidding!" He laughed obnoxiously to himself as Gokudera's eyes softened as he saw the boy play with his building blocks and plastic toy soldiers.

xxxxxx

Tsuna came back into the room a little later with Fuuta still in one hand but no Ipin in the other. They looked up at Tsuna looking questioning him with their eyes except for Lambo who ran to get Fuuta to play with him.

"Ipin wanted to go cook with Mom. So we took her downstairs. She looked excited to help cook so she'll have fun. Fuuta, Lambo, let's go take you guys a bath now!"

"Yay!"

"..."Fuuta was still silent but he walked to the bed to grabbed his clothes and came back to grab Tsuna's hand again. Tsuna smiled happily knowing that he was coming around slowly. Lambo followed the older child's lead and grabbed Tsuna's other hand. They headed out, leaving Goludera and Yamamoto to finish their work.

Fuuta was still silent but he walked to the bed to grabbed his clothes and came back to grab Tsuna's hand again. Tsuna smiled happily knowing that he was coming around slowly. Lambo followed the older child's lead and grabbed Tsuna's other hand. They headed out, leaving Goludera and Yamamoto to finish their work.

"Tsuna seems happy," Yamamoto whispered as he continued to write and erase at the same problem over and over. Gokudera stared at him so a moment before glaring slightly.

"You can't call him that… You're right though."

"..."

"..."

"I remember him." He spoke softly again. Gokudera didn't even look at him this time.

"I barely remember him."

"Me too, haha." Gokudera stared at him as he grinned. He glared again but not without a grin himself.

"Stupid baseball brain. I don't even understand what happened? I remember I was... that he was just gone."

"I don't understand too. I just remember playing with him at the park and we were smiling. Then I just remember me, being sad."

"..." Gokudera remained quiet as he replayed his own memory in his mind. He knew there was so much missing.

"I barely had a memory over the weekend."

"I remembered around that time too."

"But you don't remember everything?"

"No," Gokudera growled as he was getting frustrated trying to remember it all. "I just know I've seen him before and Tsuna-sama was really amazing."

"Me too. Tsuna was just important to me is all I know."

"..."

"..."

"We are not going to have a lot of time to study with all the kids now."

"Haha! You're right! I should finish this before they get back."

"..." Gokudera began to work in silent thought.

"Do you think... he remembers anything?"

"Maybe... but he hasn't said anything yet."

They didn't speak again and began to work on their homework. The only words they said was in their minds.

'Tsuna'

'Tsuna-sama'

xxxxxx

Gokudera finished just as Tsuna and the kids got back. The kids ran in excited and laughing. Yamamoto smiled watching them. He could tell they bonded in the tub and had a lot of fun.

"Haha, Fuuta you look all squeaky clean now," he said to the now blushing boy. He bent his head down before he spoke showing he was still shy but not scared.

"... Yeah"

"Speak up. We won't bite."

"R-right," Fuuta stuttered trying to speak louder after being surprised by the silver haired teen.

"Haha, Gokudera is just like that. Don't worry about him Fuuta-kun." The smiling baseball freak said trying to calm Fuuta down after the shock. "Is that scarf important to you?"

Fuuta stared at Yamamoto uneasily before he reached his hands to grip the said scarf. It was dirty and they say it was dirty but Tsuna saw Fuuta grabbing it and placing it with his new outfit before bathing.

"I-It's important to me," he spoke softly to the boy as he continued to grip it in fear of it disappearing.

" Well no one is going to take it from you, but maybe you can let Mom wash it for you? It won't take long." Tsuna spoke trying to make the little boy calmer and knowing that they won't take it from him. Fuuta nodded his head in acceptance. "I'm happy you look more relax now, Fuuta-kun," he said making the boy blush and smile again.

Tsuna and his friends sat down and began to work on their homework again. Tsuna got help from Gokudera as Yamamoto was finishing up what he had left.

"When I'm done we should go play downstairs or something right?" he called to the kids

"Yeah!" They said excitedly as they continued to play with Lambo's blocks.

Tsuna smiled at Yamamoto who flashed a smile back at the struggling teen. He knew that Yamamoto was just helping him focus instead of worrying about the bored kids. He knew that he could not understand what was said to him by Gokudera because he glanced at the two every few seconds. Once Yamamoto got down with his work and left it there for Gokudera to check for him, he took the kids out. Finally, Tsuna could start focusing on his studies that Gokudera was teaching him.

"So do you get it?" his tutor asked.

"I t-think so."

"Try this one."

"R-right."

"Relax. You don't have to worry just focus. You got this."

"Right, thank you." Tsuna smiled brightly up at at the older teen.

"You're welcome," Gokudera mumbled as he looked away blushing at the wonderful smile and feeling useful. Tsuna began to work hard on the next problem. Gokudera could see how hard he focused on it. He began to check Yamamoto's work as Tsuna worked. IT was quiet in the room. Gokudera called this a calm atmosphere. An atmosphere he appreciated and enjoyed.

"Done!"

Gokudera looked up at the brunet smiling. He reached and took the paper back. He looked at the problem and his answer.

"Way to go. It's correct and no errors I see." He handed back the paper. Tsuna took it still smiling and then looked at the last question he had left. Gokudera told him it had a few extra steps to it and he told him he would check it and help him with it, but Tsuna said he was determined to do it for himself. Gokudera now sat in his corner of the room reading a book he had under his cot in Tsuna's room. They were in their calm atmosphere again. They've gotten used to each others presence easily. Now, they felt at peace like they were always best friends.

"Thank you for all the help, Gokudera-kun."

"You are the one who works so hard on this. I did nothing but show you how."

"It's almost impossible for me to learn though." Tsuna closed his book sighing softly. "I'm going to take a break."

"Alright… do you want to go see the kids and baseball freak?"

"Mmm, in a second."

"Okay."

Gokudera went back to his reading but watched Tsuna over the rim of his glasses. Tsuna laid in his bed for a few minutes. Gokudera could see in his eyes that he was in deep thought.

"I can't believe all the changes that have happened in such a short amount of time. I haven't been called Dame for some time now and not often at all."

"It's cause you defeated that idiot."

"Haha! I don't think that is all it is. Right?" Tsuna smiled as he looked over at the silver teen. Gokudera continued to stare at his book as if not knowing what he meant. Tsuna laughed as he remembered a few days ago.

xxxxxx

 _Tsuna and Gokudera were asked to help carry some boxes the teachers needed to be taken to her office. Tsuna had been carrying light weight boxes and Gokudera helped with the heavier boxes. Tsuna lifted two more boxes that were a little heavier than the others. He was walking out of the room when he knocked into someone._

 _"Whoa!"_

 _"Hey watch it!"_

 _"I-I'm so-sorry!" Tsuna stuttered as he saw the basketball star on the ground. The athletic teen looked up and saw who it was that knocked into him. Dame-Tsuna._

 _"For real. Just my luck to run into you. Can't you watch where you're going Dam-"The star player ran screaming as Gokudera reached down to help pick up the stuff._

 _The star player got up quickly and ran off screaming. Tsuna stared cluelessly at the teen as he ran off. He was confused as to what happened. Tsuna felt himself be lifted off the ground by the collar of his shirt and then he knew what had happened._ _Gokudera must have come out of the room with his boxes and glared at the poor teen. Gokudera reached down to help Tsuna pick up the stuff on the floor. Tsuna smiled at the silvered haired delinquent._

 _From then on Tsuna began to notice no one calling him names with Gokudera around. What shocked him more was that even when he was around Yamamoto the other teens would not dare say anything to him._

xxxxxx

Tsuna lifted himself out of his bed. He picked up a stack of blankets and began to open them up. Gokudera grabbed the other end and helped spread it out.

"Should we get another blanket and move the table?" Gokuderad asked Tsuna as he stared at the small blanket that wouldn't fit all six of them.

"Yeah, let's do that." They moved the table to the corner of the room by Gokudera's bed. Tsuna came back with another big comforter and a few more pillows.

"Lambo-kun loves pillows so I decided to bring more in case he hogs them."

"Right."

They finished setting up the blankets and threw the pillows to one end of the blankets. They knew body parts and heads will be all over the place like usual. After they were finished, Tsuna walked downstairs while Gokudera was a step behind him. They saw the kids in the living room surrounding the TV. Tsuna could see they were playing a video game. Lambo looked like he was losing to Fuuta but Yamamoto was losing on purpose so he would not be in the last place. Tsuna looked to the dining room where Ipin was with Mama setting the table for dinner.

"Hey guys, why don't you pause the game. It looks like dinner is just about ready."

"Haha, Alright. You guys ready for food?" Yamamoto asked as he paused the game.

"Yay!"

"Yes."

Fuuta followed Lambo who ran into the dining room.

"I hope everyone likes it," Ipin spoke for the first time as everyone entered. Tsuna was happy she was starting to find the courage to speak out.

"Ipin-chan helped a lot. She's helped with the chowder and had a wonderful flavoring idea I just had to try!"

Tsuna took a bite, "Wow! It tastes great!"

"Yay!" Lambo screamed as he began to eat. "Hot hot!"

"Ahoshi! Eat slower and don't waste any food!"

Everyone laughed before tasting the food themselves. Tsuna watched everyone as he ate. Lambo was engulfing everything on his plate. Fuuta wasn't far from it. Gokudera was yelling at Lambo to slow down and have manners. Yamamoto was trying to mediate between the two but succeeding in getting yelled at by Gokudera. Ipin was trying to help Fuuta and Lambo every time they choked on their food and then scold them both to chew before swallowing. Mama was laughing and smiling at the excited and active atmosphere of them all. Tsuna continued to watch them as he ate. He felt a weird feeling inside himself that he had no clue of what it was. He finished eating first and left to bathe. As he left, everyone quieted down until he got further away. Mama sighed and everyone looked to her curiously and concern.

"What's wrong, Mama?" Lambo said. Mama shook her head.

"I'm just tired. It's been a hectic day. Hasn't it?"

Everyone nodded their heads feeling tired themselves.

"We best go to bed early today," Gokudera said softly as he continued to eat and everyone followed in doing so.

"Haha, yeah. Did Tsuna finish his homework?"

"Not yet, he was on the last problem."

"I-I'm sorry. But did Tsu-kun allow you boys to call him that?" They looked to Mama who sat staring at them. They could not tell how she felt or what she thought.

"Sorry, I forgot not to…"

"It's okay. He's just… it makes him go through all kinds of feelings. I guess."

"We won't say it in front of him. We don't plan to upset him."

xxxxxx

The group moved into the living room after dinner. Mama was in the kitchen washing dishes. Normally, Gokudera or Yamamoto offer to help her, but today they felt that they needed to entertain the kids. Tsuna came back down stairs to find them screaming and playing. Gokudera was playing against Lambo and Ipin now. From the look of it, Gokudera was losing to Ipin. Lambo was doing his best but he had the handicap setting, so he wasn't far from Gokudera.

"Come on!"

"Haha, it's just a game Gokudera," Yamamoto said succeeding in angering him more.

"Shut up, I know that!"

"Yamamoto-kun, I'm out if you'd like to go bathe next."

"Oh, Tsunayoshi! Sure!"

Yamamoto raised off the couch from where he sat with Fuuta. Tsuna could see they were having fun laughing at Gokudera and his suffering. The tall teen left to bathe still grinning and laughing as he hear Gokudera scream to Ipin to slow down. Tsuna sat with Fuuta as the trio continued to play enjoying themselves.

xxxxxx

"Hey, I'm out," Yamamoto said as he sat on the couch next to Tsuna. Gokudera, sitting on Tsuna's right, was reading his book that he got after losing to the 6 year old. He nodded his head and finished reading the page he was on. He got up from the couch and headed out to bathe. The older two teens watched the young ones continue to play the racing game.

"I need to finish that last problem so I'll see you guys upstairs," Tsuna said as he left to his room after awhile.

After he left, the kids played a few more rounds before deciding to head upstairs to their room. The kids ran into the room as Tsuna sat at his desk. The one he never uses anymore, and they jumped into the blankets that were spread out on the ground. Tsuna knew it was already their bedtime as he watched them begin to yawn. Tsuna continued to finish up his work as Yamamoto moved to the movie collections they had. He was picking out the movie that they will be playing as they fell asleep. It became a habit that they made after the first time they slept over. A habit that they enjoyed doing. As Yamamoto was putting the movie in to start, Gokudera walked into the room. He head to his cot and pulled out his book that he was reading. It looked like he was finishing it up. Tsuna planned to buy him a book tomorrow if they get time to. He continued to read before they went to sleep.

Yamamoto took the lead in getting the kids into the bed for sleep. He knew that Tsuna was finishing up his work and Gokudera was waiting on him before he sleeps. He layed down with the kids holding on to Fuuta and Ipin. Lambo lyed next to Fuuta waiting on his big brother. Finally, Tsuna finished his work and went to turn on the movie. He saw Gokudera closing his book and went to lye between Fuuta and Lambo. He held them closely. Ipin left to the bathroom as Gokudera headed to turn off the lights. Lambo was already snoring in between Gokudera and Tsuna when Ipin returned from the restroom. Tsuna reached over to lift her up and place her next Lambo. The kids were asleep immediately after lights were out. Tsuna laid there listening to the soft sound of the movie. He looked up to the ceiling feeling the kids' heavy breathing. He begins to think of the time he went to bathe. When he went to escape.

xxxxxx

 _Tsuna walked slowly to his room. He wasn't feeling too great. He didn't know what he was feeling. He grabbed his night shirt and pants and went to the bathroom. Step by step he took and he felt lost in his emotions. He felt like his emotions were taking hold of him. They felt heavy. The water was now pouring down on his head. Tsuna's intuition went on high alert. Tsuna hadn't noticed but all day, and especially since he got back, his intuition had been screeching in his head. He felt his body shake like it was freezing under the warmer water._

 _'What is going on? What are these feelings in me?' he thought to himself. He rubbed his head. He felt a headache taking over. A headache that had been acting up all afternoon. He sighs to himself._

 ** _"Dame-Tsuna, look at these people you've gathered around yourself. Such innocent people getting involved with you. Such innocent people…. More like your future bullies. People who will hate you and blame you for all the misery that will come. Think about it. They will grow tired of you and move on from you to something better. Your new family members, yeah right, they are going to take your Mama away because you're no good. You will be left all alone again with no one around. What will you do then huh?"_**

 _Tsuna stared into the mirror of the bathroom. He could see tears falling from his eyes. Tsuna wanted to get away. He only felt the dread and hate he felt for himself. He felt his throat clamp up and his dry mouth. He could hear his blood rushing in his ears and feel his heart beating in his chest. He could not believe how he felt at that moment. What could he had done to deserve this? He did not hate anyone but he just wanted to get away from everyone. Tsuna went into the tub to soak. He still felt his blood rushing in his ears and head. He stood there feeling tears sliding down his face._

 _" **Dame-Tsuna, what are you trying to do? Make friends? They don't like you, you are just a burdening on everyone. They feel the need to protect the weak boy you are. Why are you so weak and worthless? What good do you do? You are just trouble to these people. They hate you and they don't care about Dame-Tsuna. They must talk to about Dam-Tsuna all the time. They must talk about how he is stupid and deserves to disappear from here. What would happen if you did disappear? Would your family and friends be relieved to see you gone?"**_

 _Tsuna quickly wanted out of there that moment. He rushed out of the tub after a quick clean. He got out of there quickly and went to his room. He went to the stairs and stopped. He took a few deep breathes to calm down before heading downstairs. He could hear laughter as he took each step down. It got louder and louder. He could hear the laughing and talking and screaming of the people down there. They were enjoying themselves._

xxxxxx

Tsuna looked to his left and then his right. He can see the kids breathing in and out. They were sleeping so peacefully. They looked so calm in their sleep. 'They look so happy. Am I happy too? I am. Is this going to last long? If it doesn't, at least I had it for awhile. What about…?' Tsuna forced his mind to silent. He looked to his desk one more time. He stared at the drawer in it. He felt his eyes get heavy and began to close them.

'Goodnight'

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 **Thank you for reading and please review.**

 **This chapter was longer than most and it would had been longer but I decided to separate it. The next chapter is half way written so it shouldn't be long before I put that one out.**

 **Hoped you enjoyed. Don't worry I have so many ideas for this story even though it is still in a work in progress.**


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter will be longer than the others. I was pretty happy with the outcome, but I did have trouble at some parts. Hope you enjoy anyways and sorry for my errors.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own KHR**

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Chapter 9

The next morning was bright and loud. The world was spinning but there it was, screaming and yelling. 'Ouch!' The feet crashing down on top of Tsuna was the last straw. The brunet did not expect to hear yelling or being used as a stepping stool, and it was not what he asked for as his alarm. As Tsuna's lungs were crushed under the weight, he jumped up, fully awake. His sleep was driven away by the throbbing pain running through him. His eyes were still blurred from the sudden light, and his mind was still cloudy from a dream. He continued to listen to the noise around him as it grew louder.

"STUPID COW! GET BACK HERE!"

"AHHH!"

"Now, now! Calm down, Gokudera! Haha!"

"SHUT UP, BASEBALL FREAK!"

"Lambo, give it back! Stealing is no good!"

"We're ones to speak, Ipin."

"Fu-Fuuta! I-I just mean… From friends, it's no good."

"That's true, I guess but still."

"Now, now everyone. I think we need to all quiet down. Look, we woke Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna could finally see what was happening when his eyes cleared. He saw Lambo in the corner of the room gripping a book to his chest. Tsuna recognized it as the book Gokudera had been addicted to for the past few nights. The silver teen was in front of the small calf starring in horror and anger. Yamamoto was behind him and trying to calm them all down. Fuuta was trying to talk Ipin out of attacking Lambo. Ipin was scolding Lambo while cornering him with Gokudera. The finally awaken teen stood up from the blankets and walked over to the noisy group of troublemakers.

"Lambo, why do you have Gokudera-kun's book? Did you ask to borrow it? If you want to read, just ask. I'll get you some books, today," Tsuna said. He was smiling, but they could tell he was displeased. Lambo looked at his brother and felt scolded as if he disappointed his older brother. Tsuna was in front of him and lifted him off the ground.

"L-Lambo just wanted to play, and Bakadera was ignoring me. I just wanted to play with everyone." Lambo looked sadly into the brunet's eyes. The chocolate eyes were trapping Lambo in a strange sensation. He didn't know what it was.

"Maybe if you asked-"

"I did!"

"Then if Gokudera-kun felt too busy to play at that moment, you should respect that and come to an agreement to play later."

"..."

"I'm sorry Lambo, I was on the last page of that chapter, and I wanted to finish it."

"Also, Gokudera-kun, for a child like Lambo, they would not understand that a book is more important than playtime. You should have known that. Next time, explain to him or ask Yamamoto to keep him busy until you were done." Tsuna scolds him as well. Gokudera looked down as he felt bad for what had happened. The kid loves to annoy him, so he assumed that was all he wanted again.

"Next thing," Tsuna said after placing the baby calf next to Gokudera. He looked to the group with a wide, cheery smile on his face. "Who in the world stepped all over me while I was sleeping?" Everyone gulped. They knew this was a promise to make the person hurt. The problem was they knew who did it; They all did it.

Earlier, they had all been talking in Fuuta's new room. They were figuring out what things he would like, and how the wall would look like. Then the commotion happened. Gokudera was at the desk in the room when Lambo snatched his book away. They all chased him into the room where the sleeping brunet was. When they each busted into the room, one after the other, they stepped on top of the sleeping teen. They looked to the smiling teen who they now felt fear too. They were sure he knew the answer himself. He must have felt their feet on top of him. They feared Tsuna at that moment, but he instead walked past them and out of the bedroom leaving everyone scared inside.

"Let's get our breakfast. We're going to be very busy today. Are we not?" Tsuna continued to smile evilly. They followed him into the kitchen. Once everyone sat down and began to eat, Tsuna began to hum to himself. His scared roommates all looked at each other, eating quietly. They could not help the glances they each gave the brunet as they tried to eat quickly.

"Let's head out to get some things for Ipin and Fuuta today. We can pick up necessities, and next weekend, we can get some extra things for the three of you."

The group all nodded wondering if Tsuna already forgave them. The scary and creepy aura around him had disappeared, so it seemed like he was not mad at them anymore.

xxxxxx

They all were walking home to prepare painting Lambo's room. They decided to try and get the rooms painted today and tomorrow. Tsuna walked down the street while holding Fuuta's hand on his left and Lambo's hand on his right. Mama was holding Ipin's hand in front of them. The two of them were holding a few bags of clothes, mostly for Ipin, and groceries. Yamamoto, who was behind the brunet, was carrying a lamp for Fuuta and some care products the kids needed. Gokudera, also behind them, had the bag of blankets for Ipin and Fuuta, and a bag with three pairs of shoes because Ipin and Fuuta's were old and so where Tsuna's.

They made it home before lunch time and headed to Lambo's room first. They needed to clear it out and sweep it before they painted it. They were placing the tarps on the floor when they took a break to eat lunch. The delivery men with the paint had arrived around that time with the buckets of paint they ordered. They took the paint buckets upstairs. There were many different colors because Gokudera wasn't sure what all exactly he was going to need. Today, they headed back to the paint shop to order some more paint. Lambo's room was to be blue walls with clouds. Fuuta decided on an outer space room, and Ipin didn't know what she wanted. Gokudera told her he had a perfect idea of what to paint for her room.

So now, they were finished clearing out Lambo's room, they decided to start painting the walls.. The blue walls were fading, so they wanted to make it more vibrant. Tsuna and Yamamoto helped paint the walls while the kids played around in the room with paint brushes of their own.

Once they were done, everyone decided to start clearing out Fuuta's room now. Gokudera wanted to stay in the room for a few moments to figure out how he wanted to design it. Tomorrow, Gokudera was going to start working on the paint job in each room. Tsuna thought back, and he never remembered seeing the silver teen take a real interest in painting or artwork. Sure, he had a style and always looked like he was a model with his sharp features. He could probably pass as a female with how slim and flawless skinned he looked. Even so, that did not mean anything since art was more of a soul thing than an outer look. Then again, they had only met two weeks ago. They rarely talk about anything personal and barely for a few minutes when they do. Tsuna sighed and continued to work clearing the room.

The started to set up the tarps and paint buckets in the room. Fuuta was thinking about how outer space will look like in his new room. Fuuta loved science and space. He loves the distant and empty look it has but also how full and crowded it is. Tsuna and Yamamoto began to pour some black paint into one of the trays, and Fuuta felt himself panic. He didn't want his room to be dark and lonely. He was going to speak to stop them but fear took over. He couldn't speak. Suddenly, they heard screams break the silence.

"STUPID COW! GET BACK HERE!" The teens inwardly sighed as they stared at the door. They set everything down before heading to it. They walked out to see Lambo crying and running from Gokudera who was screaming at the tiny boy, again.

"AHAHAH!"

"Gokudera, what's going on?"

"That stupid cow touched the paint before it was dry!"

"Waaaa! Bakadera hit me!" They screamed as they ran up and down the hall. Lambo made a turn into Fuuta's room as Tsuna and the others opened up to allow him in. Tsuna jumped in front of taller teen when he tried to make a run in after the small calf.

"Tsunayoshi, get out of the way, please. That idiot needs to be punished." Gokudera was growling as he glared at the baby cow who was dancing behind the brunet.

"Gokudera-kun, Lambo is just a child leave him alone. You know he is very immature and a 6-year-old." Gokudera sighed and nodded as he looked into Tsuna's eyes. 'Tsuna-sama is not-'

"Don't paint it all black!" He yelled instead of finishing his own thought. It completely slipped out of his thoughts forgetting what he was saying. Gokudera walked into the room and looked around. "Let's see," he mumbled to himself. "I'm going to need help for this room." He reached into his pocket as he looked at a sketch on it. Tsuna looked at it himself.

"I had some ideas and started sketching to try it out. Can you guys do this? Paint the wall kind of like this. I'll fix it up, but I do need help painting the whole room." Tsuna and Yamamoto looked and nodded.

"Sure," Tsuna said as he began to pour a little bit of black into the tray. Yamamoto grabbed his rolling brush, and Tsuna grabbed his. They began to paint. Gokudera instructing them every now and then.

"Fuuta, we are done for today. How do you like it so far?

"It's amazing! I love it and it's not dark or anything."

"I figured you wouldn't want that."

"Thank you," Fuuta said to Gokudera. He smiled and ruffled up the small brunet's hair.

"No problem, kid. So Ipin, I'm ready to work on your room for a few hours." He grabbed two buckets of paint and headed out.

"We cleaned it out while you painting that last bit earlier," Yamamoto said as he walked behind Gokudera with two more buckets. Tsuna was carrying the extra things they needed. As they walked into the smallest bedroom in the house, Ipin was already inside the room looking around.

"You ready to do this Ipin?" Gokudera said softly as he walked over to the kid.

"Yeah," she spoke softly as she smiled up at him. "I'm just trying to remember what this room looks like before you transform it." Gokudera smiled down at the innocent girl.

"Want to see what I have been thinking of doing?" She nodded looking excitedly. "Look here, this is the drawing I started working on. The walls will be mostly red and there will be strips of gold, a silver painting of a tiger and some different flowers as the décor around the window and corners." Her smile widens as she tried to image it. They began to work by taping off the areas where gold would be. Everyone was busy painting red on the walls while Gokudera began to sketch on a wall where the tiger would be. They were painting, talking, and laughing. The kids were playing around with the little bit of paint they were allowed to touch and running around the room.

"Wahahaha!" Lambo was chasing down Ipin threating to paint her. Tsuna asked them to be careful, but they did not listen. Without a warning, Lambo tripped and fell. He ended up tossing his brush into the air and everyone stared in shock as it landed.

"STUPID COW!" Everyone laughed as they saw the red dripping down Gokudera's hair.

xxxxxx

The rest of the day passed by quickly with no real big issues. Dinner was noisy like usual. The playtime afterward was tiring on the older kids after such a busy day, but the three young ones still enjoyed themselves very much. The whole day ended with limbs spread out on top of each other while another movie was playing in the background.

Later during the night, Mama had walked in like she does every night and did her thing. As she was about to turn off the tv, she heard the older teens moaning and began to stir.

"Please- stay"

xxxxxx

The next morning came not as rowdy as yesterday. Tsuna woke before everyone else. Actually, he wasn't too sure when he woke up. It was pure black in the room when his eyes opened. He couldn't see anything around. Like he never even opened his eyes. He felt exhausted, but he couldn't go back to sleep. Sleep was just gone. He didn't feel like he had the energy to look to the clock, so the time could have been anything. Tsuna rose out of his bed hours later or was it not hours. He wasn't sure still. He headed to the kitchen and found Mama was there already. 'It's still so early. Why is she up?'

"Oh, Tsu-kun! It's still so early. I was going to let you all sleep in a bit. You should go back to bed."

"That's okay Mom. I can't sleep anymore. Maybe I am too excited for today."

"Oh, well yes. Today is going to be very busy isn't it?"

"Yeah," Tsuna said as he went to get some juice. "I'm going outside. This the first time I'm up so early. I want some morning air."

"Oh okay. Go ahead."

Tsuna walked out to the patio and sat down in a chair out there. He breathed in the chilly morning breeze. He couldn't understand what he was feeling at that moment. He was not sad or upset yet he still felt uncheery. Tsuna listened to the morning silence and the whistling of the small birds in the trees. He looked to the bright, foggy sky that showered him. He enjoyed the quiet of the morning. He closed his eyes and

xxxxxx

Time was passing by quickly until Tsuna heard a lot of noisy upstairs. He had come inside not too long ago. It felt weird, but he felt like he knew everything that was happening as it happened upstairs. He listened to the banging and yelling. He heard when Lambo jumped on top of Gokudera and when Gokudera realized he wasn't in the room. The group of children all came running down the stairs not too long after. Gokudera was first in the living room.

"Tsunayoshi, good morning."

"Morning," Tsuna responded as he looked at the face of the worried teen. He could see he was about to ask him something, but Yamamoto interrupted him.

"What are you doing up so early?"

"Woke up too early. I guess I'm just excited for today." Tsuna raised out of the couch. "Let's get breakfast so we can get started. They nodded as they followed Tsuna to the dining room.

xxxxxx

Now, they were in Lambo's room getting ready to paint the walls. Well, at least, Gokudera was getting ready to start painting.

"So what should we do Gokudera?"

"I don't know. I will be painting on my own." Yamamoto looked around and thought for a moment.

"Well, we can dust off the things that are coming back into the room and sort through all of the clothes and decided what's good or not." He nodded to himself before walking out with the kids.

As Tsuna and the others were wiping things down, Gokudera was hard at work in the room. Even though Gokudera did not need help, Tsuna still felt the need to check up on him. He knocked on the door every 30 minutes to check on him, and Gokudera was probably okay with that since he only answered back that he was still alive and not quite finished yet. When he went that fourth-time though, Gokudera did not answer back with a comment. Instead, he opened the door. Tsuna stared wide eyed at the silver teen who now had paint in his hair, hands, and clothes.

"How is it going?"

"Just finished." He mumbled as he stepped to the side for Tsuna to enter. He walked in and looked around the walls. He knew his mouth fell open and eyes widened. He saw more than just a few round clouds. He saw the world outside that window. The clouds looked like there was no walls just pure sky. It was so life like.

"WOW! It looks amazing!" Tsuna stared at the beautiful walls. He knew Lambo was going to love it. He looked to the window in the room and smiled at what he saw. The clouds around the window were painted with a glow. They were shining like the sun rays shined on them. They were lit up. Tsuna continued to look around and saw a big black rectangular shape painted on the wall. He smiled as he saw the black square. It seems that Gokudera had bought black paint to create a chalkboard in Lambo's room.

"I am going to paint that in each room for the other little ones." Tsuna turned and hugged his friend who was not expecting such an act of affection.

"Amazing, thank you!"

"Sure, let's set the room up. Go get the baseball freak."

"Right." Tsuna ran out to get Yamamoto who was dusting off Fuuta's things. Earlier, the delivery men came and left the last of their items they had ordered in the hallway while Gokudera had been painting. The teens brought in Lambo's things making sure nothing touched the paint job. They placed the bed in one corner a couple of feet away from the walls, and the new wardrobe was set up across from it. The shelves next to it. The red rug Lambo liked in the middle with the table. They moved to setup desk and placed it by the chalkboard. The orange toy box was put at the foot of the bed. The blankets were spread out on the bed and a few boxes were moved in as Tsuna went to get everyone to see "The Big Surprise".

As they were heading to the room, Lambo was jumping around. Ipin and Fuuta looked just as excited. Tsuna was smiling as he held Lambo's hand. Gokudera was behind the kids with Yamamoto and Mama. They made it to the room, and Lambo was ready to open the door to his new room.

He pushed it open and the calf bolted through. Everyone else followed after him. He was standing in the middle of the room looking left and right and back. Tsuna looked at his face and saw him staring in pure shock. Tsuna saw tears and snot start to fall. Gokudera walked up to Lambo and place his hand on his head. Lambo jumped and looked into the silver teen's green eyes. The small calf leaped into his arms and cried a bit more.

"It looks amazing!"

"Lambo likes it?"

"I'm sure he does. Look at it Ipin. It's so warm and comforting." Fuuta spoke with a soft and amazing voice.

Tsuna looked at their faces as they stared longingly at it. "Gokudera-kun, you did a great job."

Gokudera smiled back at them all warningly before pulling Lambo away to show him around his room. Tsuna smiled at how pleasant they were and perhaps acted like brothers themselves. They weren't yelling at each other or name calling. They didn't seem hostile at all.

"Let's get Fuuta's set up, so Gokudera can paint it."

"Yeah!" The kids answered back to Yamamoto. They ran out of the room to set up the tarps. Gokudera followed after with everyone else.

This time Gokudera bored Tsuna and Yamamoto's help at the time. Even so, he still started off doing it himself. The first 30 minutes when Tsuna went to check on Gokudera he was pulled inside. Gokudera wanted help with something at the moment. Tsuna left 15 minutes later. Tsuna thought about it and decided to ask Yamamoto to come with him this time. Tsuna noted 30 minutes after leaving the silver teen. Once again, he opened the door and reached to pull Tsuna in and saw Yamamoto and grabbed him and pulled him in too. They left twenty minutes after that and came back ready to help by walking right in. They stayed and finished and went to get the small brunet. Fuuta was excited to see his room. They could tell cause he couldn't help how he jumped in his shoes. He acted like his calm self, but he could not help bouncing in his walk. Once at the door, Fuuta pushed open the door and bolted in as quickly as Lambo had.

"It's so- so beautiful!" Fuuta said looking around the room. It had the bed and desk with the lamp inside. The walls had a dark blue tint to it all around. On one side of the wall was a galaxy on the other side was a super nova. There was a black hole. The stars were around the top of the ceiling and Fuuta could already see a few constellations.

"I couldn't do it all but I figured you'd like those," Gokudera said as he looked up at it thinking about his work. Fuuta looked at Gokudera and then at the stars above.

"It's- it's the January constellations, right?" He spoke softly staring at the work above him.

"Yeah, you can tell?"

"Yep! It's perfect!"

"You told us your birth month yesterday when we were asking you and Ipin questions about yourself. Gokudera must have gotten the idea from that." Yamamoto said as he was smiling to the tiny brunet who now had teary eyes.

"Y-yeah," he said trying to not cry.

"We're happy you like it Fuuta-kun," Tsuna said walking up to the teen. He hugged the boy before looking back to Ipin. "I guess it's time to do your room Ipin." Ipin nodded eyes teary as well.

"I'm going to get started on lunch so I'll call everyone for lunch soon." They nodded to Mama as she headed out.

This time Gokudera said he has sketches on the walls so it should be but a couple of hours to finish up. Everyone one had finished cleaning Ipin's stuff so Yamamoto kept them entertained down stairs playing video games. Gokudera went to work and Tsuna asked to help. Gokudera had him do filling in the sketches at the gold areas. He started on the tiger. Once again, everything was peaceful and they were almost done when they were called for lunch. Lunch was quick because Gokudera wanted to get to work and finish to show the little girl. Once it was all finished they brought in her things.

Ipin was at the door with everyone this time already ready before they finished preparing the room.

"Ipin heard you boys moving things in and came running." Mama had explained as she held Lambo in her arms. Lambo had tears in his eyes and Tsuna assumed the grape candy in his mouth was to help soothe him.

"Ready to take a look Ipin?" Yamamoto asked. She nodded and then pushed open the door.

"Wow! Pretty!" She said. The first thing she saw was by her bed a silver tiger on the red wall. She looked to the left and saw Chinese words in the gold. On the right was mirrored the same way. By the door was a silver peacock. She continued to look around and looked at the flowers that decorated the room. She was amazed and turned to hug the surprised teen. He hugged her back as she said her thank yous'.

xxxxxx

They were all outside playing around after that. Tsuna felt that it was warmer than what it had been this morning as he breathed in the breeze. He was listening to everyone laughing and running around. They were all having fun. He looked over to the left and there was Gokudera smiling even as he scolded Lambo for behaving like an idiot. Yamamoto was talking with Ipin and Fuuta about their rooms. Ipin had answered saying it's cute but then blushed bright red afterward. The two boys laugh at her reaction.

Mama walked out with afternoon sandwiches and everyone came running to get one. The young ones sat on the edge of the patio and the older ones ate at the table on the patio. Tsuna was feeling this heavy weight on head and chest. He has felt this way all day now, but something inside was different this time. Suddenly, he rose from his chair and excused himself to the bathroom. Once again, they started as he walked inside, but no one said anything. After awhile, they all just went back to what they were doing before. The older teens still felt odd about how Tsuna has been acting all day. They looked to Mama and saw she was sitting there still eating her sandwich. She looked unconcern to them.

Tsuna walked up the stairs and felt his head feel dizzy. He didn't know what was happening. He just knew he had to come inside and that couldn't stick with the group much longer. It was feeling forced today. Every time they smiled to him and he smiled back, that odd feeling continued to pester him. Tsuna wondered into his room and lay in his bed. The troubled boy rested his head on his pillow and began to think 'Why am I doing this? They must be missing me. I wish I could help them.'

A while later, Tsuna really wasn't sure how long later, the door to the room opened and the brunet could hear someone walk in. Tsuna could hear them stop at the door, and they didn't speak. Tsuna wondered if it was Yamamoto or Gokudera, or perhaps Mama. The kids he could hear laughing outside. Then person left and Tsuna lied there not moving. He couldn't. He didn't feel like talking or listening. He didn't feel like moving and faking a smile. Tsuna knows his own image. The image of 'happy child Tsuna' and 'Dame Tsuna' was what he was and that is what he had to be all the time. He pressed his face into the pillow and felt his head still spinning. 'Why can't I do anything right?' he wondered as the weight on his head got much more heavier.

xxxxxx

Gokudera looked up to see Yamamoto returning from Tsuna's room.

"Did you find it?" Gokudera yelled as he tried holding the kids off him as they tried to tackle down 'the monster'. "Would you idiots quit that?" He yelled at the boys. When he heard nothing from Yamamoto, he looked toward him. "What's wrong?" He could see the taller teens face was a bit pale and his eyes were just staring off as he looked the trees in the yard. Gokudera walked up to him and waved his hand in front of his face. "Hey, Baseball freak! What's wrong?" Yamamoto jumped as Gokudera yelled in his ear.

"I'm sorry. I just... I saw Tsuna," he whispered as he was still trying to get his mind working. "Tsuna was in his room, and he didn't seem okay?" Yamamoto looked to Gokudera's face. Gokudera had a concern look on his face. "I'm worried that Tsuna is going through something." Yamamoto felt his heart beating quickly in his heart as he thought about the years he had seen the same scene but from a different perspective. He looked to Gokudera with his eyebrows pressed together in concern. "I think something's wrong with Tsuna." Gokudera read that face with his own concern. He knew that he was serious and more serious than he had ever been before.

"What do you think we should do then?"

"I-I don't know." Yamamoto ran a hand through his hair. He was frustrated because he did not know what to do, but he wanted to help so badly. "Tsuna's hurting I think."

"Let's go- No, let's let him rest a bit. We'll go see him later when he's probably feeling clearer," Gokudera said before turned to the kids. "Fuuta, watch them."

"Okay, Gokudera-kun!"

They walked inside and headed to the kitchen in search of Mama. They saw her getting started on dinner. They walked up to her as she was standing in front of the oven. She was turning on the flame when they announced themselves.

"Mama," Gokudera spoke first for once. "Tsuna-sama won't be coming down for food for awhile. He went to rest in his room, and we found him asleep. It has been a hectic day you know, so he's resting up."

"Oh okay. Poor Tsu-kun! I should probably check on him if he's sick when he gets up," Mama took off in search for something. "Watch the food for me for a second." She hollered back to the boys. They watched her in her search. She stopped and pulled out a medical kit. She went to the counter and pulled out a glass and a cup. She pours some tea into the cup and placed it in the tray with the kit and empty glass. She walked off before they could question, but they caught a glimpse of a tear falling softly down her cheek. They looked curiously at the door she walked out of as she headed up stairs.

"What do think just happened?"

"Idiot, how would I know? Just stir the food." Gokudera yelled at the baseball freak. Yamamoto looked concern as he stirs. Gokudera couldn't blame him. Something is happening and they don't know what it is.

They were silent for a while. They thought about the small brunet upstairs. They thought about how Mama was acting. Even though they were so confused, he just wanted to help the brunet. Inside they could feel that the brunet was important to them. Mama walked back into the kitchen and said her thank you. They walked to the patio door and saw the kids playing in the yard still. It looked like they were playing hide and seek. They continued to watch them until dinner was ready.

Once they were eating, they saw Mama setting up a plate for the brunet upstairs. They finished eating quickly and Yamamoto took the lead. He asked mama if they could take Tsuna's food, but she didn't answer them. They got up anyways and took the tray off the counter. They headed to his room wondering how the small teen was. They opened the door and saw Tsuna laying in bed, asleep. On the small table in the room was the tray Mama had brought up earlier. It looked untouched like she just set it down and left it. They looked to Tsuna and wanted to wake him, but they let him sleep. They figured Mama was going to keep the kids entertained down stairs, so Gokudera sat on his cot and Yamamoto sat at the desk. They just stared off into space waiting. Waiting on the brunet to wake from his sleep.

xxxxxx

Tsuna's head was hurting, and it felt like it was pulsing. 'Did I fall asleep?' He turned his head to the side. And saw the small table with a tray on it. He just stared at it before sitting up. Once he was up he saw Yamamoto by the window staring out to the orange sky. He looked to the left and saw Gokudera with a book in his hands that he must be reading.

"Umm," he started trying to form words in his head. The two looked up at him startled. "I'm sorry. I guess I was tired. You could have woken me or something. You didn't have to wait here." Tsuna looked away and blushed as he looked at his hands in his lap.

"Don't worry about it," Gokudera said before looking to Yamamoto and then back to his book.

"Yeah, haha, we wanted to rest too. Those crazy kids," Yamamoto laughed as he shook his head. "We're not as young as we use to be. Anyways, your tea is cold and so is the food. Want me to heat it up for you?" Yamamoto said as he got up. He was at the table before the younger teen could answer.

"Wait! It's fine really." He was out the door before he could stop him. Gokudera looked up to see a look on Tsuna's face. Sad or concern? He wondered.

"Baseball freak doesn't listen very well. Let him do what he wants," spoke the silver teen. "Anyways how you feeling? You look a bit pale but you just woke up too."

"Oh, umm. I feel fine really," Tsuna said looking straight into Gokudera's eyes before he looked to where the tray had been. "Did Mom worry?"

"Yeah, a little."

"I see. I feel bad for worrying her," He spoke softly as he leaned against the wall.

"It's no problem. I figured you just needed a nap away from everything."

Tsuna nodded, not sure himself. He felt better, he thinks, but he didn't know why he slept and why he needed to. Yamamoto had returned with the tray, and Tsuna headed to the table to sit at. He began to eat the warm soup. It felt great as it went down his throat and settled into his stomach. Yamamoto and Gokudera stayed silent. They didn't ask questions or at like they were worried. Tsuna knew they were just keeping him from being bothered. Tsuna didn't want them to stay quiet because of him so he decides to talk.

"So Gokudera-kun, how was your job?"

"Oh, I should be getting a call tomorrow about it. Hopefully, I got it."

"How did you get by before?"

"I had a job, but I had a few customers complain about my hair. I had too many complaints, but they gave me a recommendation to another place where it shouldn't matter."

"Wow. I hope it goes well."

"Well you guys, I should be heading out now before it gets dark out. See you guys tomorrow."

"Bye Yamamoto."

"See ya."

xxxxxx

That night Tsuna and Gokudera where on their beds and the two boys slept on the floor in a bundle of blankets and pillows. Ipin decided to sleep with Mama tonight. Tsuna lay on his bed and mind working quickly. He couldn't sleep. He stared at the desk where he rarely went to now. Inside that drawer was the picture. The picture that made Tsuna's body feel heavy and mind feel dizzy. It made him think about the past when he was enjoying life before he was left alone and secluded.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter some. It was long and perhaps a bit boring but I feel it had its important parts. Review and Favorite it does help so much.**

 **Next chapter is in the works and is on its way.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you for the wait. Enjoy and sorry for errors. I liked this simple chapter, so I hope you like it too.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own KHR**

* * *

Chapter 10

The next morning came quickly after Tsuna had fallen asleep. He woke up from another nightmare. Tsuna raised his head and saw the children still asleep around him. He looked at the clock. It was 5 in the morning. Tsuna thought about trying to go back to sleep, but he felt like he couldn't. Sighing, he rises and lifts the small calf off his chest. He placed him next to Futa. He tiptoed across the room to get clothes to change into before going out of his room. He decided to start cooking the lunch bento, so he headed down stairs. Today, he decides to make steamed meat buns. He began to grab the ingredients out of the cabinets and fridge. As he cooked, he took his time. It was still early, but he knew his Mom will be up by 6 to cook and make the bento. Today he wanted her to relax. He wanted her to have more time in her morning. Maybe she can spend time with the kids today. Mama appeared from the stairs. She looked to the kitchen to see Tsuna cooking. She smiled and stepped in.

"Good morning Tsu-kun!"

"Morning Mom."

"Did you get enough sleep?"

"Yes, I just woke up early." Mama stared at Tsuna for a moment. She still looked worried. 'Tsu-kun couldn't be hurting again, could he?'

"Would you like help this morning with breakfast?" She asked with her warm and mothering smile in place. Tsuna looked toward her and smiled back.

"No thanks. I want to surprise everyone this morning."

"Alright."

Tsuna continued to make the meat buns until he heard screaming, yelling, and laughter signaling everyone was awake now. Tsuna smiled as he listened to them from the kitchen. He started to work on the pancakes he planned to make.

"AHOSHI!"

"Bwahahaha!" Tsuna smiles up to the ceiling as he images Lambo running around the room as Gokudera chases him. Fuuta was most likely trying to calm them down and get them to stop fighting.

BANG!

"Waaaa!"

"Stupid cow! Don't run down the stairs!"

Tsuna walked out of the kitchen to see a crying cow on the floor. Gokudera comes down the stairs scolding the small calf for probably tripping down the stairs.

"Lambo-kun, you need to be careful," Tsuna says as he lifts him off the ground. Tsuna tried to calm the calf down as he listened to him try to explain something, probably what happened upstairs. Tsuna nodded and listened with a small smile on his face.

"Bww I wus and bawadawa *hiccup* and I waaa."

"I see I'm sorry that happened but try to calm down. Tell me, where do you hurt?"

"Hewe" Lambo points to his forehead. Tsuna placed a cool cloth on the soon to be bruised. Tsuna has had practice over the years of healing his own bruises and pains.

"Feel better? Ready to eat breakfast?" Tsuna asked Lambo as he sat him in his spot at the table. The little calf looked up quickly nodding his head. Lambo was a happy eater so Tsuna had already known the answer.

"Good!" He left to get a plate together for the baby cow. He placed the stack of chocolate pancakes in front of Lambo and left to get Gokudera a plate. The silver haired teen sat at the table quietly, watching Tsuna go into the kitchen.

"Here you go," Tsuna says as he placed the plate down. He sat with his own plate seeing Lambo already blowing and tasting his cooking.

"Ummmy!" He yelled.

"It's very tasty," Gokudera said as he too took a bite. Tsuna smiled as he continued to eat his own. Mama walked into the dining room smiling down at the boys. Fuuta right behind her.

"Morning Fuuta-kun."

"Good morning, Tsunayoshi-san," he spoke so properly to him it shocked Tsuna, but not just him. Everyone in the room had stopped what they were doing and stared at the little brunet. Lambo looked unstartled because he was eating happily.

"You don't have to say my whole name like that. Say what you feel comfortable with." Tsuna smiled down at the boy.

"..." Fuuta stared at the teen before nodding. "Okay, Tsuna-nii." Tsuna smiles and serves him his breakfast. Mama smiled at the boys as she began to eat as well.

"Tsu-kun, it's delicious!"

"Thank you."

"What? You made this?"

"Tsuna-nii, cooked?"

"It really is amazing, Tsuna-nii."

"Yes, I did and thank you. I woke up too early this morning, so I decided to make breakfast. I made our bento today as well."

"Wow! I'm looking forward to it."

xxxxxx

They headed out saying their goodbyes to everyone. Gokudera led the way as they walked to meet Yamamoto. Tsuna followed behind. He didn't know why he woke so early, but he began to worry that he won't function well in the classes. He could already feel the heavy weight of the day that he was about to endure. Tsuna and Gokudera were around the corner of Yamamoto's house when Gokudera turned to face him.

"Are you going to be okay today? Do you need to skip today? We can go to my place and wait out school there. Hibari might not try finding us… but even so, we should be fine if you need to." Tsuna stared in shock at how he knew how much today was going to be for the brunet to endure.

"N-no I'll be fine. Re-really." Tsuna looked away and stared toward his knees. He knew his stuttering, just the slightest, sets Gokudera off. He always tried to pretend he did not stutter, but it feels more obvious lately. They stood there in silence for a moment, but Tsuna feared what the other would say or yell at him. Probably something like 'Don't pretend you're stupid! Do you think I can't tell when you're lying?' Tsuna began to twitch as he waited for the louder teen to yell but nothing came. Final, Tsuna looked up to the silver teen just as he turned away and began walking again. Tsuna followed after him believing the older teen had believed him somehow.

"If something happens at school, don't be scared to come to me about it. Okay?"

"Um o-okay. I mean, I hope nothing does happen, but if it does, I'll tell you." Gokudera nodded his head as he walked into the restaurant.

"Morning boys!"

"Morning Yamamoto-san," Tsuna said as he walked to the bar where he worked on cutting the fish for the day. "Is Yamamoto-kun almost ready?"

"Should be, but that boy. His mind is always else where." Tsuna's laughed and Gokudera looked like he wanted to put in his own comment, but Tsuna interrupted him.

"He's just a distracted soul. He's still just trying to figure out what he wants." Gokudera stared at the brunet but soon Yamamoto came bouncing down. He said good bye to his dad, and they headed out. The boys headed to school. Tsuna listened to Yamamoto talk about his excitement for baseball. As they were making it to the front of the school, they heard a voice from behind them.

"Tsunayoshi-kun, good morning!" The voice was soft and sweet. The trio of boys turned to see an elegant brunet coming closer. She walked up to the group of boys.

"Kyoko-chan, good morning," Tsuna said as the girl was now in front of them. Kyoko was smiling brightly as she stared at all the boys.

"Hey monkeys," Hana spoke as she walked up from behind Kyoko.

"Don't call us that!" Gokudera screamed as he glared at the taller girl. She laughed at him for being easy. She obviously enjoyed making Gokudera angry.

"What? Can't handle the truth?" She snickered to the boy as he looked baffled by the girl's comeback. Suddenly, a loud scream was heard from behind the boys. They turned to the scream that had gotten louder and louder.

"EXTREME! Hey, Kyoko!"

"Onii-san!"

The group of boys turned back to the brunet girl as she smiled and waved at her brother. They saw a short haired male teen. He was taller than Yamamoto, had bigger muscles too. His body had bandages wrapped around his arms and fists, and a bandage on his nose. The teen was running up to them and stopped next to Kyoko.

"How was your run, Onii-san?"

"It was EXTREME!" He yelled at the smiling girl. The others in the group all threw their hands onto their ears to prevent so much damage to their hearing. The older teen seemed to not care how loud his voice got, or the damage his loudness might cause to their ears. They looked at the unfazed girl as she continued to smile at her brother. Tsuna worried that her hearing might already be damaged.

"That's great, Onii-san." She turned to the group of boys and introduced everyone to her brother. "Onii-san, this is Tsunayoshi-kun, Yamamoto-kun, and Gokudera-kun. Everyone, this is my onii-san, Ryohei. He wasn't able to come the first two weeks because of illness, but he got better over the weekend." She smiled brightly as she looked at the boys. Ryohei was looking at the boys with a questioning and perhaps apprehensive look. Ryohei looked from boy to boy, and when Tsuna felt his eyes on him, he stared back. Ryohei looked down to his little sister and placed a hand on her head like she was a little kid. Tsuna assumed because she is a little kid in his eyes. He knew once his three new siblings grew up, they would always be little kids in his eyes. Tsuna looked at Ryohei some more because he had such a protective vibe around him, and Tsuna respected that a lot.

"Thank you for taking care of Kyoko while I was away." He spoke in a quieter voice than before. Perhaps, he was speaking more seriously. "I heard EXTREMELY a lot about you boys!" He screamed to the boys who were only a foot away from him. "IT'S EXTREMELY NICE TO MEET YOU ALL!"

Whack!

Tsuna watched as Ryohei was sent flying across the pavement. Hibari had appeared out of nowhere. He now had Ryohei pinned to the ground, and Tsuna stared wide eyed at them.

"Herbivore, you are disturbing the peace. As punishment, I will bite you to death." He growled to the extremely loud teen.

"Haha! An EXTREME fight so early in the morning! Let's do it!" he yelled back causing everyone to flinch at the volume, except Hibari. He seemed determined not to show any weakness to the other teen. Tsuna saw Ryohei send a quick right to Hibari, making the teen jump back. and allowing Ryohei to stand up.

"Haha! Nice dodge!" Ryohei said as he got into a boxing stance. Hibari glared at him with evil intent, but Tsuna saw the excitement that was in his eyes too. Tsuna suspected he was excited about a fight. Hibari shot off and went after Ryhoei with his tonfas. Ryhoei dodged, and Hibari blocked his punches. They continued to attack each other, and Tsuna began to worry.

"Please, stop fighting." He pleaded the two older teens. They paid no attention to him as they continued to attack one another. Gokudera got mad at them. He didn't know why, but he was upset that they ignored the small brunet. He jumped in between them as they continued to fight ignoring the addition to the brawl.

"Listen to Tsuna-sama!" He screamed at them.

"Now, now everyone. Let's all just stop attacking each other." Yamamoto interjected as well. He had a forced smile on as he watched them fight. He seemed to not like the fighting and perhaps even the emotions behind it.

"Onii-san, stop picking fights."

"He started it, and a man never backs down from an EXTREME invitation to a brawl." They continue to fight. Tsuna stares in shock at the conflict, and the scene they were making. He saw many students and even teacher staring as they passed them by. Obviously, they were too scared to interfere with Hibari around. Even without Hibari there, they would not know what to do because they never had to handle conflicts before with Hibari around. No one causes trouble more than once if at all because of the demon perfect. Tsuna began to get anxious and he was worried. He stared at the boys in front of him as they continued to fight and shove each other. Finally, he ran and grabbed Hibari's elbow as he was about to hit Ryohei in the stomach with his tonfa. Tsuna blocked the attack of Gokudera's as he was running to punch Hibari from behind. Everything froze at that moment. Almost like their flames to fight ran out.

"Please stop fighting. We need to get to class, and we are causing a scene." He said in a calm and quiet voice. They all relaxed and looked at the small brunet.

"Haha, you're right!"

"Okay."

"Extreme point!"

"..."

Hibari glared at the teen for a moment as they all grabbed their things to get ready for class again. They turned to go.

WHACK! "Don't order me around again, or I'll bite you to death." Tsuna rubbed the back of his head as he felt a bruise form again.

"He'll pay for doing that, and no one ordered him to do anything," Gokudera growled as he glared to the perfect walking away. Tsuna placed his hand on the silver haired teen's shoulder.

"It's okay. At least he left." Gokudera looked to the sweet smile the brunet had on his face and looked back to Hibari with a glare.

"He still shouldn't have done that. As punishment, he doesn't deserve his lunch today."

"No, we can't do that. He needs his lunch, Gokudera-kun."

"Fine." Gokudera caved in to Tsuna's persuasion.

"Let's go before he returns," Tsuna said as he leads their group inside.

"Extreme, I have to go now. See you at lunch, Kyoko."

"Okay, Onii-san. Meet us in our classroom 1-C."

"Right!"

They walked to their classroom and went to sit. Tsuna could hear the other students in the class whispering. He caught words like "Did you see?" "Wow" "That can't be for real" "No way" "Them" "Hibari-san" "Lies" "Dame-Tsuna" At that last person's whisper, he felt the atmosphere in the room turn cold. He sighed. He was not sure how he felt about the name, but he could see Gokudera and Yamamoto begin to stand, clearly unhappy. I knew the kid who spoke was now wishing to take back his words. Before any screaming and possible deaths could occur, the teacher walked in to start class.

xxxxxx

It was lunch time now, and Tsuna was ready for it. He didn't feel like he was functioning well today. Maybe because he was ready to go home already. Today, the teacher had announced they will be starting a project. After lunch, they will be teaming up with someone from another class to work on an Economical Project. Tsuna sighed 'partners'. That word continues to echo in his head as he looks to friends sitting on the roof with him. Yamamoto was opening up the sushi he brought. He seemed okay with the project. Of course, he was more social than Tsuna was. He was popular and liked. Kyoko and Hana seemed happy about the project. Kyoko was excited to meet someone new, and Hana was just looking at the impact on her grade depending on the partner she chooses. Tsuna was worried about who he would get as a partner because he didn't want to bring them down. He knew how bad he was at anything.

"I can't believe we have to work with that other class. I'm going to have to deal with some idiot who is probably annoying."

"Now, now, this is a great way to make a friend, Gokudera." Tsuna saw Yamamoto have a small smile and slightly sad eyes. He noticed Tsuna staring at him. "It is too bad though. It would have been fun if we got to partner up, huh Tsunayoshi?"

Tsuna smiled back at the athlete and then looked back at the girls. Hana was talking to Kyoko about wanting to partner up with a smart girl and not a guy who would bring it all down. Ryohei had been quiet so far. They had asked him to try his best at being quiet since Hibari was on the other half of the roof. Tsuna was worried still. He didn't want Ryohei to be uncomfortable and restricting himself, so the small brunet promised to find them a new spot tomorrow. Ryohei had stared at the caring boy curiously. He was amazed at how caring he was for a person he just met. Tsuna noticed how Ryohei was constantly staring at him. He felt uncomfortable with being watched. Finally, the older teen stopped, and lunch was close to over. Gokudera was fighting with Yamamoto still over something Tsuna was not listening to. Suddenly, Kyoko stood up while Tsuna was finishing packing Hibari's lunch.

"I'm going to deliver Hibari-san's food." Ryohei stared at her curiously.

"I'll go too!" He screamed accidentally.

"Shhhh!" They all said.

"Sorry," he said quieter, but he was still watching his sister. Tsuna could feel how uneasy he felt about letting his sister go, especially by herself.

"I don't think so Onii-san. You might accidentally start a fight with him."

"I'll go with." Tsuna raised off the ground. Tsuna could tell Ryohei was worried about her, but if he went with her, the boy might start a fight with the demon. Seeing as the two teens had looked excited to start a fight anytime. Tsuna knew she would be in some danger. Ryohei stared at the boy for a long time, well it sure felt that way.

"That's Extremely alright!" He said as quietly as he could which was still louder than they were comfortable with, but they let it pass. The two volunteers headed off to the other side of the roof with the demon perfect's lunch. The two boys who had been talking moments ago were now quiet. They sat there on the roof motionless. Hana found it weird that the monkeys were so quiet and tamed now. She wondered what was wrong with them as she looked from one to the other.

"What's wrong with you Monkeys? Can't function with out your overseer?" she asked trying to push a button, but Gokudera only glare at her with no more reaction. They looked like they were thinking about something. She could see Yamamoto staring down at his bento box while Gokudera stared toward the left watching birds fly in the sky. After another moment of silence, Yamamoto looked over at the silver haired teen.

"So, Tsuna seems better today."

"Yeah," he muttered back. "Seems like it."

The other two heard them but didn't say anything. They felt like they would be intruding on a private conversation. Soon the two shorter teens arrived, and everyone began to talk and laugh again. They acted like that silent moment never existed. The bell rang signaling lunch time was over, and Tsuna could only hope class would end quickly. He wasn't ready for this project or new people.

xxxxxx

They were all in their classroom waiting for the other class to come in. While they were waiting, Tsuna could feel his nerves get worse. Suddenly, they heard the other class coming down the hall. They could hear their voices and the chatter coming from them. Their teacher walked in followed by the teens. They looked from student to student probably looking for a potential partner.

"We are class 1-D, and we hope we can get along. After you have formed your groups of two, half of the groups will move into the 1-D classroom. Class 1-C bring your partner to your own desk after you have decided on a partner. Alright, start talking and thinking of ideas as you pick your partners."

The mass of students began to flood further into the classroom. Many of the girls immediately went to Gokudera's and Yamamoto's desk while many of the boys went to Kyoko. Tsuna watched how even their own classmates went to them. Tsuna watched how Kyoko and this black haired girl began to bond as they talked. They were laughing and talking about a lot of nonsense it seemed. It was obvious they were clicking and ready to be partners. The boys around her gave up finally and began to look for a partner as well. Yamamoto saw a teammate from practice and rushed over to him to talk. They talked about practice and how excited they were for it. The girls must have given up once Yamamoto only listened to his new friend. Gokudera had been sitting in his chair watching everyone go crazy. Every now and then, he would glare at the girls who were constantly squealing and cooing at him. Finally, they began to pair off, but they still continued to bother him.

After a while, the teachers finally called out to see if anyone still did not have a partner yet. It seemed almost everyone had one. A few kids still lingered, and they began pairing off quickly. Gokudera and Tsuna were all that was left from class 1-C considering they never actually got up to look for anyone. Class 1-D had one student left. He was tall but thinner than Tsuna. The student looked angry as he looked from Tsuna to Gokudera.

"Alright, Ito-san pick a partner from them." The angry student stared at them for a bit longer, obviously displeased with his options.

"Fine, I guess the delinquent." He muttered making Gokudera angry.

"Oi! Who taught you manners?" Gokudera yelled. He glared at his new partner who he didn't approve of. They clearly hated each other already. Tsuna sighed, already imagining horrible scenarios that Gokudera will leave behind after murdering his new partner. The class 1-D teacher looked to Tsuna as he watched his friend try to resist becoming a murderer.

"Young man, we are sorry, but your partner is not here today. If he does not show tomorrow, we'll let you join another group here," the teacher spoke.

"A-alright!" Tsuna stuttered. Gokudera and Yamamoto gave him a small smile. They each knew what they were hoping for.

"Alright! These two rows will follow me to the other room. We will then go over more of the specifics of the project." Tsuna felt himself finally breathing as he saw that his friends did not have to leave to the other room. He had feared he would end up being alone.

After the other groups left the room, the teacher began to give them papers and explaining the project to them in more details. Tsuna tried to take notes and get as much info as he could because he might have a partner tomorrow and have to explain everything to the person. Tsuna was already horrible at understanding and writing his own notes, so he was not sure what he was taking notes on. He guesses he might try asking Gokudera for more information.

The groups had the last half of class to communicate with each other. Tsuna saw Gokudera sleeping while his partner was yelling at him to wake up and work. Yamamoto and his friend seemed to be talking about baseball still. They probably didn't know more about the assignment than Tsuna. Hana and her partner looked like they were hard at work. Hana probably screaming out orders to the shorter girl. Kyoko and her partner were loud. The other girl was constantly screaming and cooing at every little thing they talked about. Tsuna could see Kyoko was being absorbed by the other's character.

xxxxxx

The school day was finally over, and Tsuna was relieved the day was over with. Kyoko and Hana were packing their things up while Gokudera was grumbling about his annoying partner. Yamamoto walked up to Tsuna and smiled sadly at him.

"Sorry, I have practice today, so I'll have to head out first."

"No problem, Yamamoto-kun. See you tomorrow, and good luck at practice today." Tsuna smiled back at the taller teen before he headed to the door. As he was walking out, Hibari appeared.

"Yo, Hibari!" The baseball player said as the demon perfect walked in.

"Herbivore, don't make me bite you to death."

"Haha, you wouldn't if you still want sushi for lunch tomorrow!"

"Want to bet." Hibari got into a stance with his tonfa out as he glared at the boy.

"Nah. I have to get to practice." He left as Hibari came toward the group.

"You are crowding again. If lunch had not been good, I would bite you all to death." Hibari dropped the bento box on Tsuna's desk and began to walk away.

"EXTREME! How was class today Kyoko?" Tsuna began to sweat. He knew Hibari was in a bit of a foul mood already. Ryohei screaming was not going to help at all.

"Herbivore. Too loud."

After saying so little, Hibari attacked Ryohei and they began to brawl again. Sighing, Tsuna grabbed his things and began to head out. Gokudera close behind. The girls were following a little less reluctantly. Ryohei notices them leaving him and said bye to Hibari. He yelled back to the demon.

"Let's continue this fight later."

xxxxxx

They made it to the separation spot where the girls headed in a different direction. Tsuna was waving bye to the other three when Gokudera got a call. Tsuna watched as he took the call. Once he hung up he came back to Tsuna.

"I'm sorry. I have to go. The job I interviewed for wants me to come in today for a tryout. I have to go. Bye."

"Alright, see you."

They walked in different directions, and Tsuna was walking home alone. Tsuna was used to this more often than anyone, being alone. It wasn't something really new to him, but lately, he was never alone. He continued to head home. Once he was inside the house, he called out.

"I'm home."

No one answered him. He wondered about that. The hallway's lights were off, so he flicked them on. Lately, his life had been noisier than this pure silence. He walked into the kitchen and saw a platter of cookies on the table. Next to it was a note. **_"Tsuna"_** was written on it. He picked it up and read it.

 ** _Tsuna and Gokudera,_**

 ** _I went out with Lambo, Ipin, and Fuuta. We are off to see your father for a few days. We are going to officially adopt Ipin and Futa. Since you have classes, we decided you would be fine for a few days. I left food in the fridge, and I promise to call tomorrow. Wish us luck!_**

 ** _Love,_**

 ** _Mama_**

 ** _Ipin_**

 ** _Fuuta_**

 ** _LAMBO!_**

Tsuna sighed and smiled at the scribbles at the bottom of the page. It seems they will be gone for a while. Tsuna headed up stairs and looked at his phone. He had a text from Gokudera.

 _"Sorry about leaving so early. I promise to help in the morning explaining the project to you and the baseball freak. Also, say sorry to Mama for not being able to come home today. See you tomorrow morning." - Gokudera_

Tsuna sighed and sent a message back saying it was fine and no problems. He said thank you and good luck today. Tsuna now laid on his bed staring up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes to rest for awhile. He thought about his new family and his new friends. He saw himself running inside the house to see his family around the table and his friends smiling at him. He felt happiness inside himself. It swelled up in his chest.

He opened his eyes and saw darkness. It was so dark in the room, and Tsuna knew it was late. He raised off the bed and saw it was almost 8. He had fallen asleep without knowing. He walked across the room to turn on his light. He still felt tired but thought it was best to see if the project assignment made any more sense to him after his nap. He lifted his bag and walked to the lonely desk he no longer sat at these days. He pulled out his notebook and began to read over his notes.

Hours had passed, and he still didn't have a clue as to what he was reading. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair giving up. He looked to the drawer that he has not opened in so long. He was staring at it for awhile before gaining the courage to open it. He reached for its handle and rested his hand on it. He closed his eyes and thought about his past. He imagined a small brunet running around. He was crying. The child was crying and you could see a small chihuahua puppy behind him. The child ran and ran. Tsuna watch as the child was lifted up by his dad. The father called him cute and adorable. Tsuna opened his eyes and opened the drawer. He pulled out a necklace. It was gold and had a symbol on a charm. Tsuna remembered the symbol meant closeness and together. Well, his father told him that at least. Tsuna smiled at it for a while before reaching into the drawer again. This time, he pulled out a crinkled photo. He stared at it for a few minutes. He felt a lump in his throat as he held it delicately.

"Hello," he whispered to it. "I'm sorry."

He places the photo down on his desk. He reached for another notebook. He decided to review his math notes to try and remember the things Gokudera had been trying to teach him. He hoped the other teen would not to have to reteach him the same things over and over again. He always felt bad not remember his lessons, and Gokudera, Tsuna could tell, felt bad for not being able to teach him.

Tsuna had gone to sleep for a couple of hours that night, but he was continuously tossing and turning. He was having a nightmare. Lately, every night, when he closed his eyes, nightmares came. Tsuna could only rest so long before the terror of his mind woke him.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading. I hope you liked it. Please Review and Favorite if you liked it.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I have started working on a shorter Fanfic and I think this weekend I will be posting the first chapter. It may be around 3 or 4 chapters long if I can help it. I also plan to update this one two more time this month. So wish me luck on fulfilling that goal.**

 **Thank for the reviews, favorites, and follows. Sorry for errors.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own KHR.**

* * *

Chapter 11

Tsuna was at work making the bento lunches for everyone. This time he made sure to have plenty for Ryohei. He decided on making takoyaki. He didn't make too much though. Knowing the others, they will be making extra food too. 'We have a new person added to the group. Making food like this might get difficult,' he wondered. After he finished making the bento lunch, he got ready to headed out of the house to meet up with the others. Tsuna walked out of the house and flicked off the hallway light. As he locked the door to the house, he felt weird at this new routine. He turned and headed to Yamamoto's place. He walked slowly because he didn't need to hurry. It was still earlier than usual. Once he arrived at the restaurant, Tsuna could hear Yamamoto yelling and calling his dad.

"Have you seen my baseball bat?!"

"It's down here!" Tsuna heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He assumed Yamamoto coming down to get his baseball bat.

"Oh, my bad." He heard the teen say. Tsuna could tell that he was right at the door entrance. He felt weird to suddenly open it and see him there so he waited a moment.

"You left it down here after practice," his dad said to him. Tsuna could barely hear him from the distance.

"Yeah, my bad. I wasn't thinking." Tsuna could tell he walked away by the way voice flowed away. He decided to head in but stopped as he heard Yamamoto. "I've been thinking about some things lately, so I've been really distracted. Probably because of these dreams lately that I've been having…"

They were quieter now. Tsuna decided to head in. He was already feeling guilty about listening in on them. As he walked in, he saw no one around. He was curious where they went. He walked to the bar where he heard their voices again.

"Lately, you've seemed to really take a liking to Tsunayoshi." Yamamoto's father said. It was quiet for a moment but Tsuna heard a soft voice finally speak.

"Yeah, he acts different and he feels different."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he seems... not like everyone else. And to be hon-"

"Good morning," a voice from behind Tsuna said. Tsuna whipped around to see Gokudera walking in. He walked toward Tsuna, and the brunet slightly panicked as he walked towards the other. "No one here or something?" the silver haired teen asked as he looked at the bar and saw no one.

"I don't know. I came in and saw no one around. Suddenly the doors to the kitchen opened and out came Yamamoto and his dad. They smile brightly as they saw the two.

"Good morning boys!"

"Morning Tsunayoshi! Sorry if I took too long. I was running around losing things from last night."

"No problem."

"Just hurry, or we'll have to deal with Hibari!"

"Haha, yeah. I wouldn't want that."

"Here's the bento for you boys. I added extra sushi for your new friend."

"Thanks, Dad." The three boys headed out to school, though they were still early. As they arrived at the school gate, they heard an extremely familiar voice calling them. They spun around to see Ryohei running up to them.

"Good morning, Ryohei-san!" Tsuna said back.

"Why are you always loud!" Gokudera yelled back with a harsh but non-threatening glare. The louder, older teen stopped in front of them looking at the silver teen with a confused look on his face.

"Haha, am I?" he laughed loudly as he scratched the back of his head. The boys stared at him like he was crazy for not realizing that he talks in a volume that is impossible. Even so, Tsuna smiles at him like what he said was purely innocent. Tsuna lowered his hands from his ears after having to protect them.

"If Ryohei-san can't help it, it's fine. Besides, I have a feeling you enjoy speaking loudly. Don't you Ryoh-"

"CALL ME ONII-SAN!" He screamed to the small brunet, and everyone threw their hands to cover their ears again. "You protected my sister, so you have the right Tsunayoshi!"

"Oh-alright," he said with a small smile as he looked at the older teen. Ryohei was smiling as he looked at the smaller boy.

"Onii-san!" Ryohei looked toward his little sister as she came into the school gates.

"Morning Kyoko!" He said. She smiled and walked up to him. He once again placed a hand on her head in sibling loving way. "You ready for an Extreme day?"

"Yes, today will be a great day." She smiled looking at the boys in front of her. Hana was behind, smiling down at the happy, brunet girl.

"We should probably get moving, or Hibari-san will come and bit us to death for crowding," Tsuna warned them. They began to walk inside the school. They ended up in class earlier than usual. The boys were talking. Well, Yamamoto was talking to Tsuna while Gokudera every once and awhile would say something rude to the baseball player. Tsuna was mostly busy thinking about where they could have lunch at. He knew they would have to cautious in order to not upset Hibari. He also knew they needed a space to themselves, or they would be causing trouble to the other people.

xxxxxx

Class started and lunch came quicker that Tsuna had hoped. He felt like it came too fast this time because he still could not think of a place where they could eat together without bothering the school's demon.

"Let's go, Tsunayoshi," Yamamoto said as he stood in front of the struggling brunet.

"R-right," he stuttered softly. He stood with his things. They walked out of the room and they turned to the right. 'What?' "Where-"

"I found a spot yesterday. Hibari was doing his perimeter check around the school, and I noticed he stood away from the Cherryblossom tree in the courtyard. No one really sits by it oddly enough. So I thought that it would be the best spot for us." They walked off as they made it there already Ryohei and the girls were setting up. As they got to sitting and pulling out there things another person appeared. Tsuna saw that she was the girl Kyoko was partnered with.

"Wow! Really? That sounds like a really good spot." They walked off to the spot. As they made it the tree, they noticed Ryohei and the girls were already setting up. As they were sitting and pulling out their things, another person appeared. Tsuna saw that she was the girl Kyoko was partnered with for the project.

"Hello! I'm Marui Haru. Pleased to meet you all. Kyoko-chan told me to come meet you guys here for lunch."

"Hello," Tsuna began, "You're Kyoko's partner for the project, right?"

"Yep!"

"Haru come sit over here!" Kyoko called as she waved her over where she and Hana sat. The squealy girl leaped at the invitation. Haru and the two girls were talking and laughing in no time. The boys listened to them as they giggled.

"You have to come with me when it opens Kyoko-chan, Hana-san." She smiled to the two and they smiled back. They began to talk about a pastry shop that is opening up soon. In the end, they agreed to go that day with her. Tsuna started to place the main dish bento in the center of their circle. Hana noticed and moved to place her bento in front of her by Tsuna's, and Yamamoto did the same by placing it in front of hers. Kyoko placed her's beside the two's and in front of Tsuna's.

"Today's dessert is another surprise experiment."

"Sounds good Kyoko!" Yamamoto said as Gokudera passed everyone their drinks. He got everyone their usual and Ryohei some juice. He looked to Haru and said.

"I have an extra juice if you like this kind of juice." He handed it to her and she smiles and said.

"I love juice! I love anything really!"

"If there is something specific you like, Gokudera will get it for you next time," Tsuna said smiling. Gokudera stared at the girl waiting for her response. She looked a bit confused as she stared at them. "Hahi? Do you guys always do this? Have a big banquet of the sorts!" She had a wide smile on her face but her eyes held confusion.

"Yes!" Kyoko spoke first. "We each bring something for everyone. We share it together." She spoke happily and excitedly.

"Oh," Haru said as looked at the others. They were staring at her waiting for her response. Ryohei thought it was weird and even felt cautious about it too, considering he is new to this too. He remembers one day after school, Kyoko had come home and told Ryohei all about their system. When she told him about it, he was worried and shocked by such a weird thing. He was worried at first that Kyoko was being used. He wanted to come back to school that next week, but Kyoko forced him to take another week off. He was amazed seeing their system first hand the other day, and he was amazed by how these people were so caring for her. He heard lots of stories from his sister these last two weeks. Haru looked to the others with curiosity still evident.

"You need to answer woman, or you're going tomorrow with out a drink!" Gokudera yelled as he got impatient with waiting for her answer. Tsuna thought the delinquent teen was embarrassed at the attention he was getting, after they all started to stare at him, and noticed he looked away. Tsuna laughed at his reaction.

"HAHI! That's no way to talk to a new friend! Do you not have any manners?" Haru screamed to Gokudera. " If you had asked properly, I would have told you I like sweet drinks like juice." She continued as she jumped up from her spot on the floor placing her hands on her hip. Gokudera sat shocked at her reaction, but he jumped out of it quickly enough to jump up too.

"Well, you should have answered the question when it was asked instead of ignoring Tsunayoshi-san!" he yelled back. Both of them were red faced and that made Tsuna laugh again. They looked like a couple of kids fighting over something stupid. In a way, they were. Everyone looked at the laughing brunet before laughing at the two themselves. They looked back at them in shock before embarrassingly sitting down quietly. The rest of lunch passed with a lot of talking from the girls. Ryohei took the time to talk about his own school day since he has been absent these past two days. Tsuna finished packing Hibari's lunch together and was getting ready to head off when he felt a horrible sensation.

"Herbivores," a low growl was heard from behind him. They all looked over Tsuna to see the demon perfect in attack mode. Before Tsuna could turn himself around, he was hit in the back of the head with Hibari's tonfas. The brunet was sent forward, hitting the ground with his face. Gokudera, Ryohei, and Yamamoto jumped up to fight Hibari. The girls checked on Tsuna.

"What was that for you demon?" Gokudera asked. Hibari ignored him though and ran to attack. Gokudera tried to dodge, but Hibari was too quick with a counter. The perfect knocked him down to the ground. Ryohei took the opportunity to attack. Hibari hit the other teen in the face with his right tonfa as Ryohei was dodging the attack from the left. Once he was on the ground, Hibari turned his attention to the last teen standing. He glared at him. He waited for his attack, but the other was just smiling.

"What's going on, Hibari? Did we upset you somehow?"

"Crowding and being here," he spoke in a growl. Yamamoto looked confused to the older teen.

"What do you mean? Why can't we be here?" Hibari ignored the question and began to attack. The confused teen dodged the attacks aimed at his mid section. It seemed to be Hibari's pattern, and Yamamoto picked up on it. "Were we banned from here or something?" He tried again to get answers from the teen. Hibari glared hard at the teen before jumping up and attacking his right arm. Yamamoto jumped out of the way quickly but was not quick enough to dodge the attack from the left. He got hit and fell to the ground. Hibari walked over to the girls, and Kyoko took the bento from the ground, She passed it to the demon perfect.

"Don't come back here," he ordered her.

"Where can we go then?" She asked him innocently as she smiled at him her sweet smile.

"Anywhere else."

"The roof?"

He stood silently before turning and walking off. "Hai," he said from a distance. A scary teen from before appeared out of nowhere and looked to the girls. He walked to them and looked to the boys on the ground.

"They look fine. They might have a few bruise but no blood was dropped today." He smiled at them. "Kyoya-san seems to go easy on them. You are all lucky for that." The girls nodded at him indicating that they understood.

"Who are you?" Kyoko spoke.

"I'm Kusakabe Tetsuya. I am the second-in-command of the Namimori High Disciplinary Committee." He left to catch up with Hibari after that. The bell rang and that told them lunch was over. The boys were beginning to awaken, and though they still felt groggy after their encounter with the demon, they still hurried to gather up their things. The girls tried to explain what happened as they began to rush to class before the bell. They made it barely in time. Haru was with them since the groups from the other day were to meet up in their new classroom this week to work on their project. They sat in their spots, and Gokudera was already fighting with his partner. Yamamoto and his teammate were already laughing. Tsuna could see Hana already talking to the short, black haired girl about their project. 'Straight to business. Just like her.' he thought to himself.

"Tsunayoshi-kun, this is your partner. He was not here yesterday that's no problem because we will be starting work on the projects today with research and plan design. Shota-kun, this is Tsunayoshi-kun." Behind the teacher was a fluffy haired petite teen. He had a sweet smile on his face as he looked at Tsuna. Tsuna felt hope as he saw the kind looking teen. The teen looked shorter than himself, but he did have fluffier hair.

"Hello," he spoke softly. He bowed his head slightly sending his fluffy, blonde hair bouncing. Tsuna could see that he gave off innocence.

"H-hello, I'm Tsunayoshi. I gu-guess we're partners." Tsuna smiled back at the blonde. The teacher smiled at them seeing that they were getting along alright. Tsuna wondered if it was because the teacher worried what he worried. That the teen would be upset being paired up with Dame-Tsuna.

"Alright, class! Today, we'll get started on the project. First, you must all answer these questions on this sheet about the Economical Situation of your country. Pick a country from the five listed on the top of the paper. After you do this, keep one copy for yourselves, and give me one to grade. After you are done with the sheet, you and your partner can get started on the actual making of the board and talk about what progress, good and bad, your country will endure this next week. By Monday morning, you will present your work. That includes individual essays turned in, poster boards set up on your desks with complete mandatory work, and presentation should be prepared and ready. So let's get started, everyone!"

Everyone began to talk to their partners about the project or whatever else they wanted to talk about. Tsuna looked to Shota, who was reading the paper they have to turn in. Tsuna still felt nervous about it since he personally didn't understand most of the teacher's instructions. Tsuna looked at the sheet in front of him to see if something clicks.

"So, Tsunayoshi-san, do you understand much of what was said?" Shota spoke nervously. Tsuna shot his head up with wide eyes.

"Umm, n-not really. Sorry," Tsuna said sadly thinking he was no help to the other.

"Hmmm," was all the sound Shota made. Tsuna sat, quietly hoping he can think of something to help with the project and the assignment. "Well let's just do our best and ask for help if we need to. I think I understood some of it."

"Oh, okay," Tsuna said. He listens to Shota as he explains some of the things that they had to do. Tsuna and Shota looked to the instructions and try coming up with an idea. Once they did, they worked on researching the country.

All during the class, Shota had been kind, patient, and understanding to the clueless brunet. He wondered if he was dreaming. He began to wonder if the blonde teen was just like Yamamoto and Gokudera. 'Would he accept me for what I am? Will he ignore the fact that I am Dame?'

"Tsuna, you ready to go?" Yamamoto asked the brunet who he stood in front of. Gokudera was behind him staring at the small brunet. Class ended and it was time to go home. Home, where no one was at.

"Sorry, I was just thinking."

"What about?"

SLAM!

They jumped and turned to the door. Hibari stalked in. He placed the bento on Tsuna's desk. He glared at them before walking away. "Herbivores, you're crowding," he growled not too nicely to them as he walked out. Tsuna sighed as he heard him go.

"I'm worried about him," Tsuna said with worried eyes as he stared at the bento on his desk. "Last week this happened for two days, and the week before that it was only one day. I hope tomorrow is better." Tsuna looked to his friends as they nodded. They agreed that this week was worse than last.

Last week, Hibari had been in such a foul mood that he took on all the troublemakers he could find. They heard he even got into a brawl with a gang on the streets one night. The demon perfect was not merciful these days. The anger that flowed out of him upset Tsuna and Yamamoto, who seemed sensitive to Hibari's emotions. Tsuna wondered if he can sense other people emotions in away.

"Let's go," Tsuna spoke as he stood and headed toward the door. Kyoko and Hana went to get Haru and was going to meet them at the gate. They saw Ryohei running down the hall towards them.

"Hey!" he screamed. He got to them and started walking with them. "Where are the girls?"

"They went to get Haru and will meet us at the gate," Yamamoto said.

"Yeah, so calm down. There's no need to yell, Turftop." Gokudera grumbled back at the older one.

"Haha, sorry about that!" he continued. "So what are you boys doing today?"

"We are going over Tsuna's to see if Gokudera can teach us some more about this crazy project. My partner and I barely got today's thing done with the help from the teacher. Haha!"

Gokudera scolded the baseball freak as he laughed. "Don't laugh about something so pitiful!"

"Actually, I didn't really understand the project either, but Shota-san seemed to get it and helped explain it to me. We figured out the rest after that. He seemed to be really smart."

"Well, it seems Shota-kun is a nice guy," Yamamoto said smiling to the brunet.

"Haha, I wouldn't understand any of that, so it's Extremely awesome that you guys understood any of it!" Ryohei screamed as they caught up with the girls at the gate. They begin to head home.

xxxxxx

"Mom took the kids away yesterday to visit my Dad," Tsuna said to the two boys with him as they walked down the street to his house. Yamamoto had asked his dad if he could go over to study for a few hours before heading home. He had allowed it.

"Oh, so you were home alone last night?" Gokudera asked him as he walked in his usual spot next to Tsuna.

"Yeah, but no worries," he said as he smiled at them. "She should be calling tonight, so we can talk to them today."

"Cool," Yamamoto said as they made it to his house.

Once inside, Tsuna began to look around the dark hallway listening to the silence in the house.

"We're home," Yamamoto said as he and Gokudera began to take off their shoes to walk in. Gokudera flicked the lights on, and they headed to the kitchen. Tsuna put together cookies and began to boil some water for tea.

"It's really quiet with out the kids and Mama," Yamamoto said as he looked around the room. They headed up stairs to Tsuna's room with their snacks and tea, and they got to work on their project. Dinner time came, and Tsuna began to heat some curry and made some rice. Yamamoto decided to head home already. He said his good bye and headed out.

"This was left over for us so we can eat." Tsuna was working away as Gokudera cleaned the living room of dust. Since Mama was away, they decided to keep the house clean for her. So she won't have a workload to do when she got back. They began to set the table when the phone rang. Tsuna left to answer it.

"Hello,"

 _"Tsu-kun! How are you? Did you eat? I had curry left over in the fridge and there are ingredients in the fridge for just about anything you want to make. The first aid is in the kitchen cabinet, but I did go ahead and replaced the old one in the upstairs bathroom. Make sure you boys don't stay up too late. Okay?"_

"Yes, Mom. I understand. Don't worry we can take care of ourselves for a few days on our own. Especially, Gokudera-kun who lives by himself."

 _"Tsu-kun,"_ she sounded worried as she spoke. _"I know you can but I still worry. I will do my best to not worry too much."_

"It's okay, Mom. I under-"

 _"Tsu-nii! It's Lambo! Lambo has been really good so no worry!"_

"Haha, that's good, Lambo," he said not sure if the cow lover could hear him. He heard his mom repeat it back to the small calf who he imagined was hopping up and down beside her.

 _"Here Lambo-kun,"_ he heard his mom say as she passed the phone, most like, to the boy.

 _"Tsu-nii?"_ he heard the boys voice softly ask.

"Yes," he answered him.

 _"Tsu-nii, Lambo's been a really good boy! Lambo's gotten lots of toys and candies. And Papa's really, really nice! Lambo's been having lots of fun!"_ Tsuna chuckled at the excitement he heard in the little boy's words.

"Well, that's great Lambo. I'm happy to hear that you've been having a lot of fun there."

 _"Lambo,"_ Tsuna heard a scolding voice that was too childish to be his mother's. He knew it had to be Ipin talking now to the small calf boy. _"I want to talk too and Fuuta-kun too."_

"Put them on Lambo. We can talk again tomorrow okay. I miss you."

 _"F-fine,"_ Tsuna smiled at how the small calf acted. He felt that he missed the child more than he had expected to.

 _"Tsuna-nii,"_ said a soft voice. He guessed Ipin was testing the words.

"Yes," he said to the tiny girl. "How are you Ipin-chan? Is Dad taking care of you kids okay?" he questioned her.

 _"Yes,_ _Papa-Iemitsu-san is taking care of us. We have been on our best behavior. Fuuta-kun did not like the flying, but we are resting at the house here."_

"House?" 'I guess dad bought one since he lives over there for a long time. He never mentioned it before...' "That's great! I'm happy you are all okay and happy. Have lots of fun over there and makes sure the boys behave."

 _"I will. Bye Tsuna-_ nii _!"_ She said loudly before he heard a lot of rustling.

 _"Hello?"_ Fuuta's voice said from the other side of the phone.

"Hey, Fuuta-kun. How is the trip?"

 _"Tsu-_ nii _! It's been good. We met Papa and played around the house before bed last night. Today, we had talked about adopting with a person, and they say it's going to be official soon. We saw Grandpa as well."_

"Tsunayoshi? Is that them?" Gokudera interrupted.

"Oh, yeah it is. It's Fuuta now. Here." He passed him the phone as Gokudera spoke to Fuuta. They talked for a couple of minutes before Mama came to get the phone. She asked Gokudera about how he and the others were at school. She made sure that they were eating right. Tsuna walked back from the dining room with some food in his mouth.

"Bye Mom," "Bye Mama," they said as they hung up.

They walked back to the dining room together. Tsuna had a little bit of rice and curry left, and Gokudera went to serve himself a second serving. They ate and Tsuna headed upstairs to shower. Gokudera finished eating and began to clean up the table. He washed the dishes and was heading up stairs. He walked into the bedroom and went to his bed where his new book laid. He picked it up and began to read it.

CRASH! Gokudera jumped off of his bed and ran to the restroom to check on Tsuna.

"I'm sorry. I just slipped and fell." Gokudera heard from the brunet.

"I'm coming out, and you can shower." Tsuna opened the door and saw the silver haired teen look over him. He was scared he was injured. "Sorry about that. I'm so- careless." He looked away as if embarrassed. Gokudera stared at him uneasily. He suspected something but just did not know what.

"It's fine. Let's head to the room." They walked down the hall to the room. Gokudera went to get his stuff and started to pick up clothes and a towel. "I'll be back," he said and Tsuna felt like it was threat and promise of some sort.

Tsuna sat on his bed as Gokudera headed out. Tsuna looked to his desk and noticed something on it. He jumped out of the skin. His heart began to beat hard in his chest. He ran to the desk and opened the drawer. He picked up the picture and placed it inside the drawer. His heart was still pounding in his chest, and he felt fear.

Gokudera came back quickly from his shower. He wanted to make sure he was not gone for too long. Tsuna was making him worry. As he walked into the room, he saw Tsuna worse than how he left him. The brunet sat on his bed with his head in his hands. He was worried again but worse. 'Something is going on with him.' Gokudera thought as he placed his things on his bed and walked over to Tsuna. To Gokudera, he looked like a fragile and scared child. He placed his hand on Tsuna's thin shoulders, but he did not move. He wrapped his arm around the shorter teen and slowly pulled him toward him. He thought if maybe he comforts him, he would relax. Right now, he was tense and getting taken over by his emotions.

Tsuna felt himself being pulled toward the silver haired teen. At first, he was going to pull away or maybe push the other one away, but Tsuna felt no energy in him to even try. He relaxed his body some in order for Gokudera to effortlessly pull him down. As Tsuna felt the older teen's shoulder under his head, tears began to fall softly from his closed eyes. The tears just flowed with no real emotions behind them. He still felt the stress he was under inside him, but at the same time, his body was slowly relaxing.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed.**

 **Please review, favorite, and follow.**


	12. Chapter 12

**This is finally ready to be published! My laptop has been acting fun the past month and the month before that I got lazy to edit. So sorry. But it's now ready!**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own KHR**

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Chapter 12

Tsuna woke from his dream as he felt the sunlight hitting his eyes. He could feel his head pounding. It was a dull ache and dizziness that overwhelmed him. He wondered why it was hurting so much. He began to move to the left and felt himself fall. He thought he would hit the floor, but instead, he hit something soft. He opened his eyes from the shock of falling and saw that he was still on his bed, not the floor. He looks around his room and sees it is empty. No one was around. He sat up and slowly the memories of the other night flowed back. He looks down at his hands and feels horrible. He didn't know what to do now after worrying Gokudera. 'I'm bothering him and becoming even more of a burden.'

xxxxxx

Gokudera was downstairs cooking eggs, toast, and bacon. He decided to let Tsuna sleep in a little longer after what happened the other night. Gokudera was really worried about the small brunet. The teen was flipping the bacon when he heard a voice from behind him.

"Ummm, I-I'm sorry," the timid voice said. Gokudera didn't turn around to the voice. Even so, he could imagine the brunet standing there looking to the ground with fearful eyes and lots of doubt. Gokudera continued to fry some eggs for the brunet.

"It's okay."

"..."

Tsuna waited for the silver-haired teen to continue. He thought he would scold him or tell him to quit being a nuisance. But instead, the older teen never said anything. Tsuna decided to sit and wait. They were silent, both in deep thought. They really didn't know what to say, but they were worried for different reasons. Gokudera placed the two plates down, and they began to eat.

RING RING

Gokudera looked to Tsuna before rising out of his seat. He decided to get it himself. The smaller teen was looking unsure. Gokudera knew the smaller teen wouldn't be able to handle a phone call right now. He needed to compose himself. While Gokudera was away, Tsuna thought about why he freaked out the other night. The picture on the desk was a big issue. It was always an issue. Even so, he knew he shouldn't had reacted as he did, but the panic had just suddenly occurred. He must not have been okay before hand. He looked at the eggs and bacon on the table and forced it down. He really didn't feel hungry or capable to eat it. He got a couple of bites of egg and half the toast down before he gave up. He decided to get up and check to see if it was his mom on the phone. He shouldn't leave her worried about him. As he walked into the hall, he heard Gokudera's voice. It was rough and calm. He had a little bit of fake excitement in the mix. He must be trying to act like everything was okay when it obviously was not. He walked to him, and he looked up at Tsuna.

"Alright, well looks like Tsuna's done eating, so I'm gonna go eat real quick before we head out. Alright, have a good day, Mama." Gokudera handed the phone to Tsuna. "Hurry, we have school to get to." He said loudly enough for Mama to hear.

"Oh, Tsu-kun! How are you, boys?"

"It's good. Mom. We're good. We've been taking care of the house, and we hadn't had much of any homework."

"That's great! Today has been great! We got most of the case down with. Futa, Ipin, and Lambo will soon be ours. We came to Japan yesterday and we'll be home tomorrow afternoon. Your dad won't be able to make it home though. He has to go back to work. Can you believe it, but what can you do? So, we'll see you then. Bye."

"Bye," he says back and moves to the kitchen. Gokudera stared at him. He guessed now he was ready to talk to him.

"Are we going to school? How are you feeling? Personally, I don't think we should go," Gokudera started he had a look of upset and sadness. Tsuna walked to him.

"I think we can," he smiled. He smiled a bright smile. One Gokudera hadn't seen in a long long time.

"Alright," he said. They headed out with some rice omelets for lunch.

xxxxxx

As they met up with Yamamoto, neither boys mentioned the other night. Tsuna was worried. If Yamamoto saw him like that too, he wouldn't be able to hold back his emotions. Even so, he felt stronger today unlike the other day, but he knew it was just barely. They met with the girls and Ryohei not too long after picking up Yamamoto. As they were heading out to school, they saw something. In an alley, there were bodies, bloody and broken, on the ground. Tsuna's intuition went haywire. 'What's happening,' he thought. He scanned the alley he felt Gokudera and Yamamoto right behind him. So he knew his back was safe from attack. He saw from the corner of his eye, Ryohei. He had pushed the girls to the wall by a trash can. He stood in front of them leaving no opens for anyone who could attack the girls. Tsuna scanned the area still but nothing was around. 'That's weird. It looks like the attack happened not too long ago.' Gokudera spoke first.

"There is no one left."

"Right," he said back. "Let's check their wounds and get them an ambulance." Tsuna turned to the girls, and saw Hana was already calling at that moment.

"I'm on it," she called back to them. Tsuna looked at the three students on the ground. Ryohei kept his post as Yamamoto and Gokudera examined the bodies. Tsuna was keeping his intuition up and alerted. Over the few years of having learned of his intuition, he can now control his intuition in case of danger. He looked to the left and saw no one then the right. He could tell something was wrong with this situation around them. Gokudera walked up to him.

"I think this was an attack, but it doesn't seem like an ambush." He looked concern. Yamamoto walked over next with a concerned look of his own.

"I think that Hibari needs to know about this. They are from our school and so close to the school."

"Mmmm," Tsuna said as he heard the ambulance. They answered the questions that they had for them and walked off to head to school. As they were walking to the school, they walked in silence. That was a shock to them all. They did not expect to see something like that today. They were all walking down the hall as the bell rang. They walked into the room. Hibari shot off. Tonfa out and ready to attack the intruder. Tsuna dodged the attack that he knew was going to occur.

"Hibari-san, I'm sorry to intrude," he spoke sincerely and honestly, but Hibari didn't care. He attacked the brunet that spoke. Tsuna tried to dodge but got hit on the check. Hibari was not listening to the boy. He didn't see a reason to and to be honest, it was never an option with Hibari. They were breaking the rules and that was it. Tsuna continued to try getting through to him, but Hibari focused on only attacking. Which Tsuna thought was the positive thing, but Gokudera was getting tired of Hibari ignoring Tsuna.

"Listen to us, damn it!" Hibari glared at the silver-haired teen.

"Do not order me." Hibari attacked the teen ignoring his previous target.

"Hibari-san, I just have some information you might want, and I would like to inform you of it." Hibari looked to the small teen. Tsuna wasn't sure if he was trying to figure out if Tsuna had ordered him or if he wanted to hear this information. Finally, Hibari hit Gokudera on the head and turned to Tsuna with a glare. He didn't attack which was a good sign. In Hibari's language. "On our way to school, we spotted a group of Namimori students taken down. They were attacked. They are now at Namimori Hospital. They were in the ally by the end of the street toward the east, by the fruit shop."

Hibari listened and then turned to leave. Tsuna breathed out a sigh as he saw the demon began to walk away toward the door. "Hurry to class, or I'll bite you to death." The group at the door got out of the way as Hibari pulled out his phone to call someone. Tsuna looked to his friends in the room. Yamamoto was trying to see if Gokudera was alright but was pushed away.

"I'm fine damn it," he yelled. Tsuna looked to the girls and Ryohei to see they were fine.

"Gokudera-kun, I'm sorry you got hit."

"It's fine… Tsunayoshi." Tsuna smiled to the silver haired. Gokudera stared at the boy with curiosity. He was not sure if the brunet was really better or not, but he was smiling more today. Gokudera smiled back at the shorter teen, and they headed out.

They went to class with a note from Hibari. The Infamous Hibari Note is a slip of paper students take when they have been punished by Hibari. They each took one. The paper is squared and small. It only has one Kanji on it. The Kanji for Death. Tsuna and his friends each showed the death mark and placed it on the teacher's desk. He immediately tossed them fearing the demon perfect like everyone else. The group all sat in their seats while the class began to roar with chatter.

xxxxxx

Lunch came and went and it was now time for project's. Tsuna saw his partner come in and didn't know how to act. He wasn't sure how he should feel as Shota walked to the seat next to him.

"G-good morning Shota-san," he stuttered out. Tsuna felt flushed and embarrassed but smiled and tried to act more confident. Shota looked to the brunet and smiled back.

"Morning," he said. They sat in silence for Tsuna feared speaking again and stuttering more. Tsuna's stuttering problem seems to have gone away most of the time but only with his friends. With others like Shota, his stuttering can go bad. So when he does stutter, Tsuna still has a great fear of being teased. Even if Gokudera and the others seem to have scared the bullies away, they are still there.

While waiting for class to start, Shota began to doodle on the conners and ledger of his notebook. Tsuna could not see what he drew because Shota's hand was blocking it, so Tsuna decided to watch Gokudera anger his partner again. Watching them was the entertainment of the classroom. Some pity Gokudera's partener, but most just couldn't help to laugh at him too when Gokudera ignores him. Today, Gokudera was listening to music from his earbuds while his partner, was his name Ito, yelled at him.

"Pay attention! We need to divided the work! You research the first question and I'll do the second. The first is easy so just do it!" Gokudera continued to ignore him. Tsuna laughed inside at how impossible it was to get Gokudera to do anything that he doesn't want to do.

"Let's get ready to work," Shota suddenly said next to him. Tsuna turned his head to the fluffy haired teen who was looking at his notebook finishing a doodle.

"R-right," Tsuna said. He grabbed his notebook and the paper where their list of questions about their country was. Their presentation was suppose to have the answers to all these questions no matter what extra work they do for bonus points. Tsuna and his partner decided on two main poster boards. Gokudera and his partner were working on a presentation that Gokudera did not support. He wanted to do a simple poster board instead of a powerpoint.

"I'm not to good at things like this, so let's do each question together," the fluffy haired teen said.

"R-right." Tsuna began to read the first question on the sheet. It asked what the current development was of their country. Tsuna didn't quite get what it was asking. Next to the question was asking the difference from the year before that. He looked clueless at the paper and decided to look over at Shota. He didn't look like he knew either but began to look through the textbook. He was hard at work while Tsuna sat there not knowing what to even look for.

"I think I've almost got it," Shota said. Tsuna tried to seach of the answer but still didn't know what he was doing. He feared it was his own fear of being wrong that may not had helped him figure it out. "Done!" Tsuna looked and saw a number being written down. The brunet sighed. He was no help again. Shota looked at to the brunet next to him and saw he didn't get anywhere close. "Umm, let's try the next one." Tsuna stared at the teen. He felt like he should have been scolded by him, but instead he said nothing. They tried the next. Tsuna still didn't get it. He was really feeling badly by the end of the class.

xxxxxx

The day ended and Tsuna had not been much help to Shota. He sighed at his failure at being his partner. By the end of the day, everyone was whispering around the school about Tsuna and his friends. Somehow, news about them escaping Hibari so many times has been spread. Especially after today's incident. The word is that the demon has a special liking to them. The evidence was because they come to classes late and always seem to escape punishment and that was just the start. Now, according to an eyewitness, they went to the demon's den, I mean office, and got a death note from the demon himself. Lastly, the weirdest thing is they escaped without any serious injuries or harm done to them. The rumors seemed to had gotten crazier and more unbelievable as the day continues. Tsuna was worried about it all. Since the others are all top students, the word is spreading that he is their servant, and no one but them can say anything bad about Tsuna. Tsuna doesn't mind it much since it was not true, but he did fear what people thought of his friends. It seemed Gokudera and the others were more mad about them calling him a servant than he was.

Now, they were walking home. Today was the day they all spent the night together, and he was not sure if he was more excited or nervous. As they got to the house, Gokudera went to get the tea ready. Tsuna went to get the snacks. Yamamoto grabbed a tray to place everything on. He was not sure what else to help with. He grabbed some cups and Gokudera poured the water to mix the tea. They headed upstairs to talk about their project. Tsuna was still sad about his work. Shota ended up answering all of the questions they had. Tsuna and him ended up splitting the remaining four to answer two each. Tsuna would not be surprised if the other teen had them all answered tomorrow because Tsuna was no good. Gokudera went through his projects paper and was answering everything like no problem. Tsuna looked down at the paper in his hands where the the questions remained. He still had no clue what to do about them.

"What's up?" Gokudera asked the brunet who was sitting so solemnly. The two older teens were looking at the brunet with worried eyes.

"I wasn't much help with my partner today." He had his head facing down. They sat in silence for awhile.

"Tsunayoshi, it's okay just try your best and maybe try to do more with the presentation part. That way you can feel like you contributed more. Pick up where he leaves off. Do your best!" Yamamoto tried to explain. Tsuna smiled softly and then looked back at his paper. He tried to work on the first problem.

Ding.

Tsuna jumped in his spot. He looked at his phone and saw a text. 'Having trouble with this problem.' Tsuna stared shock at the photo. It was one of the questions Shota was working on. Shota had texted him.

"What is it?" Gokudera asked.

"Its Shota-san. He says he is having trouble with one of the problems. Maybe he wants my help," Tsuna spoke confused. Gokudera stared at his eyes. He could see the hope and joy in that possibility but also pure fear and disappointment in himself.

"I'll help," he offered. Tsuna looked at him with eyes of sadness and thankful. Gokudera smiled a rare smile at the brunet. "I will just teach you like in Math. It's not hard. I can see you are getting close one that first one. If I help figure out how to get the answer, you'll be able to do the others on your own much easier."

"Thank you Gokudera-kun," he spoke with happiness and joy. Yamamoto smiled and watched them. He and his partner were no good today either, but the teachers been spending all of class teaching them. They did feel guilty hogging the teacher all the time. He watched the two work for a couple of hours before deciding it was time to eat.

"What do you guys want to eat? Anything specific?"

"Nah," Tsuna spoke first. "Just reheat one of the food in there. They all sound good!" He smiled at the taller teen.

"Alright," he said and headed out. After he was gone Gokudera wanted to take a chance to talk to Tsuna again.

"So how do you feel? Where you better today?"

"I think so. I felt okay I think," he spoke honestly. Gokudera just nodded his head and continued to watch the teen work on his problem. He got the hang of it now, but Gokudera liked to make sure he did it right. Yamamoto came up stairs to tell them food was ready and they headed down. They ate and Tsuna left to bathe first. Gokudera watched the boy go fearing the worst but letting it go.

"How is he?" Yamamoto asked. Gokudera stared at the baseball freak. "I could tell," he said answering an unasked question.

"He's okay for now. But last night wasn't good." Yamamoto nodded. He could tell something happened the other day because of how they had been acting. "He fell in the bath the other day and then had a panic attack or something after I left to shower. He cried."

"Mmmm," was all he said.

"Have you remembered him?"

"Yes."

"More?"

"Yes."

"Me too."

"Last night I feel like more is clearer."

"Me too." They stayed quiet for awhile.

"Does he remember you think?" Yamamoto asked.

"No. I don't think so but I don't know. Maybe he does." Gokudera spoke confusedly. Yamamoto looked off to the distance. He was worried. He wanted to talk to Tsuna about all this but the two older teens seem to be in an agreement to not tell him. At least not now. They sat there again in silence. Gokudera stood to clean the dishes. Yamamoto cleaned the table and put the food up.

"What do you remember?" Gokudera darley ask. Yamamoto snapped his head around to look at him to see if he was serious. Gokudera didn't meet his gaze. They stood in silence once again.

"Will you tell me about what you remember?" He nodded immediately.

"I planned too," he confessed. Yamamoto sat and Gokudera sat too. They did not meet gazes just sat and waited tell one of them started.

xxxxxx

Tsuna was cleaning his hair when he felt the dizziness overtake him again. This time he gripped himself stopping from falling. He didn't want to make Gokudera worried again. Tsuna rushed the rest of the washing of his hair and moved to soak in the bath. He felt like it was needed. He did take longer soaking today. He hoped the others didn't mind. He began to think. He thought about Shota and how kind he is. He feared that it would end soon. He wondered about Gokudera and Yamamoto. Then moved on to Ryohei. He was curious of Tsuna, and Tsuna didn't know why. He felt the water warming him up. Gokudera is now worried constantly. Then there was the students today. There had to be a reason for what happened to them. They were beaten up badly. Hibari want to take care of it, but Tsuna was still worried he might had punished the students as well for getting into a fight and losing. Tsuna decided to get out of the tub and worry about it tomorrow. Thursday. He was not ready for it. Mama didn't call tonight. No worries though. She called that morning. Tsuna got out and dried himself and headed to his room where he expected to see the others. When he saw no one, he wondered and thought maybe they decided to watch tv downstairs or something. He went down.

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 **Thanks for reading and I'm going to try harder next time to publish sooner. Reviews wanted! Favorites loved! Follows appreciated! Thank you for reading this chapter and reading this story so far!**


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